In Some Other Time And Place
by ExAmoreDolorem
Summary: CHAPTER 13 UPDATED! Sequel to "25 Years Later". Hermione's wish comes true. She has a second chance in life and she decides to take full advantage of it. Not a Mione-Sue story, it might seem that way at first but be patient. Very Draco-friendly but Dramione isn't the main pairing. Ron-bashing and some Harry-bashing.
1. Hermione Granger, not Weasley

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: So here's the sequel to "25 Years Later". Hermione's mother looks like Famke Janssen. I know this isn't canon but in this story, the school year starts 1/9 and ends 1/6. **

* * *

"Hermione! Wake up!"

Hermione Jean Granger –not Weasley– was sleeping deeply in her bed, with only the top of her head and her hair sticking out from under the covers. It was the third time her mother had called her name, but she'd remained stubbornly asleep. Frustrated, Jean Granger burst in her daughter's room and opened the windows, letting the bright morning sunlight fill the room.

By that time, Hermione had begun to wake. She pulled her quilt down a bit so that her face was visible, her limbs slightly clumsy in her half-conscious state. Observing her surroundings, she muttered a sleepy, "What?" and looked at the woman standing next to her bed.

"Your father and I are leaving now. We'll be back next month to take you to the Weasleys', okay, dear?" the woman said, smiling mechanically.

"What the–" Hermione started to say before she was interrupted by her mother.

"You'll be a good girl, won't you? Don't worry, darling –we trust you completely. Call me or your father if you need anything. There's money in my nightstand and Richard left you one of his credit cards on the kitchen table. Oh, I really need to go now," said Jean, checking her watch before hurrying from the room.

Hermione stayed in bed, practically frozen, for almost twenty minutes, trying to figure out what was happening, or how it was happening. She had heard of wizards and witches having long and vivid dreams or nightmares, thinking they were awake when in reality they weren't, but how could a dream span three decades? As a child she sometimes dreamt of herself as a young woman or an old lady, but this... This couldn't have been a dream! It was a life. It was a detailed description of years, months, days, hours, minutes, _seconds_!

And then it came to her.

_**I wish that I could be in some other time and place, with someone else's family and someone else's face. **_

She was definitely in another time and in another place, but her family –despite her not having a husband or children anymore– was still the same, and she was the same as well. And judging from the breeze she felt on her body, she was also completely naked.

Looking down, her suspicions were confirmed, but that wasn't the only thing she noticed; the lack of scars was shocking. Inspecting her body, the only scar she spotted was the one on her inner thigh from when she fell from her friend Jenny's treehouse.

Scrambling out of bed, she headed for the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, and almost screamed when she saw herself in the mirror. She looked so young! And her hair! It was a mess! A few years after the war she had created a potion that made her hair much more manageable. It refused to completely straighten, but her bushy mane turned into soft curls. The state it was in now... She'd almost forgotten how impossibly thick and unruly it'd been.

She couldn't figure out what was happening but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Deciding to explore the house (it had been decades since she had last been there), she returned to her bedroom to start from there.

Her room was rather large and spacious with a few pieces of wooden furniture. There was a small bed she had ever since she was little, a nightstand, a desk with a chair and a closet –modest in size as she didn't have many clothes. The floor was wooden as well, and the walls were painted a light yellow. One wall was all windows and the others had shelves for her many books.

Hermione went to the closet and started searching for something to wear. She put on a pair of blue jeans, a red t-shirt and her sneakers, this time deciding to put on some underwear as well. She walked down the stairs and went to inspect the rest of the house, which looked quite different from the last time she'd seen it. It wasn't unexpected, since her mother redecorated every year, but it _was_ irritating not knowing where everything was. On top of the coffee table she spotted a newspaper and hastened to check the date.

June 3rd, 1994? _Wow, _she thought.

As she considered the implications of reliving the nineties Hermione made her way to the kitchen and noticed her father's credit card lying on the counter. Her parents travelled a lot during the holidays and were gone for the majority of the time. When she was little they used to hire babysitters, but after she'd received her Hogwarts letter they'd decided she was old enough and capable enough to be on her own. After all, she was a "mature young lady".

_Mature my arse_, she thought. Just because she had her nose stuck in a book and had no friends her age...

Standing there, Hermione realised she had nothing to do and decided to go out –something she had never done the other times she was home alone. She grabbed her keys, her father's credit card and was about to leave when she realised another thing; she had nowhere to go.

Looking down at herself, she wondered if perhaps she should go shopping for new clothes. Her taste in clothing at age fourteen was even more atrocious than she remembered.

* * *

**A/N: I would like to thank my wonderful new Beta, TeamVampire, for improving this chapter greatly.**


	2. Sodom and Gomorrah

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: This chapter is set one month after the previous one. Here's the Betaed version from TeamVampire, which I like much better. **

* * *

Jean Granger was a truly stunning woman. She was just under six feet tall and had a slim, attractive figure. Her dark red hair was pin straight and very long, and her eyes were a piercing, bright green. She always looked perfect and dressed to impress even when she was only shopping for groceries. Jean Granger was much more than a simple suburban housewife, which was obvious to anyone who spent more than five minutes with her.

Richard Granger was rather plain-looking. Average height, average build, average looks... He had short brown hair, dull brown eyes and a face that was very easy to forget. He worked from nine to five every weekday and always got home to his wife in time for dinner. He felt blessed to have a wife like Jean –beautiful and smart. She took care of everything by herself and still had the time to look as perfect as she did. His wife wore the pants in their marriage, which was obvious to anyone who spent more than five seconds with them.

While Richard parked the car, Jean opened the door and walked inside. The house looked exactly as it had the last time she had seen it –clean and tidy– which was no surprise, knowing Hermione and her meticulous habits. It was awfully quiet, so she assumed Hermione was sleeping and went upstairs to wake her up.

_Just because she stays up all night reading, it doesn't __mean she should sleep '__til noon, _the woman thought.

Opening the door to her daughter's room, Jean almost fainted in shock.

The formerly wooden floor was now white marble, and the walls, rather than the light yellow they had been for years, were white too. All of the furniture had obviously been replaced, as everything was black! The desk was black, the bookcase was black, the chest was black, the closet was black... And the huge bed, whose headboard was on the north wall, opposite the desk, bookshelf and door, was also black. Jean hung onto the doorframe, needing support. She couldn't believe what she was seeing!

That's when Jean gasped, her hand flying to her chest. She felt faint again.

On the bed were three half-naked girls, so close together it was hardly possible to discern where one ended and the other began.

The one on the left had long black hair with dark blue highlights, tanned skin and was wearing a leopard-print bra and a g-string. Nothing else. She had an arm and a leg wrapped around the one in the middle, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

The one on the right had shorter, dark-brown hair, a fair complexion and wore a skimpy, red babydoll with white hearts on it, white lace on the bust and a matching g-string. Jean felt disgusted even looking at them, considering their dress. However, her gaze was drawn back to the one in the middle.

She was partially covered by the other girls, but upon closer inspection it could be seen that she had tanned skin, slightly lighter than the girl on her left, and her hair was blonde with highlights. She was wearing what appeared to be a light blue, lycra mesh teddy. She couldn't be... Dear, sweet god...

"Hermione!" the redhead screamed in anger, opening the mauve curtains violently and letting the sunlight pour in.

The girl in question opened her eyes lazily, and the other girls began to stir as well.

Jean walked around the room, examining it further, face flushed both with anger and slight embarrassment.

The desk was large and tidy, as was the bookcase. Everything else was a mess; the top two drawers of the chest were open, their contents visible to the world. Jean hesitantly picked up one black lacy pair of panties, dropping it instantly upon discovering that it was crotchless. She herself would hardly have the bravery to buy such a thing, let alone her daughter! Her anger flared again.

The closet was open and most of the clothes were on the floor. She didn't look closely but these were definitely not Hermione's old clothes. On the floor next to the bed were five pillows which formed a circle, and in the middle lay an empty bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label. Next to one of the pillows there was an ashtray –with ash!– and Jean noticed a pack of Marlboro Reds nearby.

"Jean? What's going on here?" came Richard Granger's voice from the door. "Never mind, I'll be going now," he said quickly, noticing the scantily clad girls.

"I want you downstairs in ten minutes, not a minute later young lady! And get these _girls_ out of my house!", Jean hissed and followed her husband.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Precisely eleven minutes later, the three girls made their way to the Grangers' living room. The black-haired girl was wearing a pair of denim hotpants, a tight grey tank top and sneakers, while the other girl had a blue summer dress on and a pair of white sandals. Hermione, on the other hand, had only bothered to throw on a short, light blue satin robe, which wasn't even closed. It revealed far too much, and Jean had to avert her eyes.

Hermione walked the girls to the door, said goodbye and went back to the living room to deal with her parents. Standing there with her arms crossed, she waited for her mother to speak first.

"What was going on up there? What happened to your room? And these _girls_... What were you wearing? What _are _you wearing? And what happened to your hair?" her mother exploded.

"I had a sleepover last night, so they _slept over_. I decided to redecorate, _obviously_. Allison and Lucia, what about them? A lovely teddy I bought about three weeks ago. The teddy plus a matching robe. A hair stylist. Does that cover you?" Hermione answered nonchalantly.

"You will not talk to me that way, young lady!" Jean shouted.

"Young lady? Doesn't that make you... old lady?" Hermione smirked.

Jean seemed furious by then. "Who do you think you're talking to? Are you... You... I expected much more from you!"

"Like what?" Hermione raised her voice, anger seeping into her words. "What did you expect from me, mother?"

"Not this! Your father and I left you alone here, believing you would be responsible and would behave. Instead, I come home and find Sodom and Gomorrah in my daughter's bedroom! What happened to you?" Jean asked angrily.

"What _happened _to me? Oh, I'll tell you what _happened to me_. I grew up, that's what _happened to me_! You think that, what, I'm going to sit here with my nose in a book when I can... when I can _live_? I'm fifteen years old, mother, not five and not fifty. And it's high time you realised that. I'm not changing –well, I am, but not in the way you'd want me to. And you better accept this or I will be out of here before you can say Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes," said Hermione, now face-to-face with her mother.

Jean Granger, normally a strict and bossy woman who always got her way, did the unexpected.

"Alright," she said, resigned, and started walking away. She was almost out of the room when she stopped and, without turning around, asked her daughter in a calm voice, "Are you still going to the Weasleys'?"

Hermione was perplexed by her mother's behaviour but nevertheless replied in an identically composed tone. "No, I wrote to Ron and told him I couldn't go."

Jean nodded to herself. "I'll be with your father. You do...whatever it is that you want to do," she said, and walked away, leaving a confused but triumphant Hermione in her wake.

* * *

**A/N: To see what Hermione is wearing and how her hair looks like go to playfulthreads, then go to the "Lingerie" section, then to the "Teddies" section and on the second page you will find "Hope - Lycra Mesh Teddy with Embroidered Applique Detail".**

**Please review! If not for me, do it for my wonderful Beta, smilelaughread!**


	3. The Handsome Hufflepuff

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: This chapter is set the day Hermione goes back to Hogwarts. This is the Betaed version. I made some more changes so you should read it again if you've already read it. I made these changes after reading the chapter in GoF where everyone arrives to King's Cross. This story may be AU but I want it to have elements from canon, like the presence of the older Weasley children at King's Cross and the fact that it was raining.**

**P.S: My Beta, TeamVampire, pointed out that the girls have no way to get back. Allison and Lucia are both old enough to have a license, though Allison is the only one that does, and she will drive back home.**

* * *

That summer was the best in Hermione's life so far.

She had met so many interesting people, seen so many places, done so many things she had never even thought of doing before. The formerly cranky and uptight woman now had a smile on her face all day long, sometimes even when she slept, too. And her smile wasn't fake; she really was having a blast.

As she finished her shower, she wondered what people at Hogwarts would think of "Hermione, the new and improved version". She had changed so much in so little time that she doubted they would even recognise her.

She walked out of the shower without bothering to get a towel, instead drying herself magically. She got dressed and fixed her hair quite quickly, which gave her time to pack her trunk. Although she mostly used magic to get things done faster, she enjoyed doing some things the Muggle way. It sounded boring but Hermione really liked packing and she was very good at it. When she had gone to Hogwarts – the first time around – she hadn't taken many clothes with her. She'd reasoned that she spent all her time at Hogwarts, where she wore her uniform, so she only needed a few things. This time Hermione took the whole closet with her, as well as almost all of her possessions. Thank Merlin for shrinking charms.

When she finished packing, she took her trunk and went downstairs.

Her mother was in the kitchen washing the dishes while her father was eating breakfast.

"Hey, honey! You look... um... lovely," her father told her as she sat down across from him. "But it's raining outside. Don't you think you should wear something more... I don't know..."

"Let the girl be, Richard," her mother said without even looking at her.

Hermione found her mother's behavior very strange. When she was a child they never fought, because Hermione was always eager to please her parents and wouldn't do anything wrong. Then, in her teenaged years, with her starting Hogwarts and slowly integrating into the magical world, they grew apart, but there wasn't any conflict between them.

They didn't care and she was too busy to notice the rift.

But she was always so quiet, so easy. She had never rebelled as a teenager, never acted wild, and she had top grades. Her mother didn't have a reason to argue with her. But now she wore slutty clothes, hung out with people her parents didn't know, left home at midnight and got home the next morning, had her "punkass" friends sleep over and sometimes stay for a few days or even weeks, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, shoplifted, went on a cruise without even asking them... She expected her mother to kick her out of the house or have a heart-attack – or both. Not to reply to everything with, "Alright," "Hmm..." or, "You go do that, honey," in a bored, indifferent voice. It was so strange...

But the truth was, Hermione didn't care much. She did, after all, get her way, so why bother with details? She had another chance and this time she would live for herself.

"You do know I'm going with Allison to King's Cross, right?" Hermione asked her father.

"Uh yes, your mother mentioned it. I didn't know she was a– like you," he answered with a nervous smile.

"She isn't, her brother is. He's in his last year," Hermione said eating some of her pancake. It was a relief to find out Allison knew about magic. Her brother Jason was a Muggleborn. Lucia, who stayed with Allison, knew all about magic too - Allison had told her - which made things easier.

After eating a couple of pancakes, Hermione stood, said goodbye and, trunk in hand, left the house. Having parents that didn't love you was convenient – when you didn't care about such things – because saying goodbye wasn't painful and it didn't take much time. Just a, "Goodbye," and you're out the door!

At least Hermione had pretended to love Hugo and Rose... This time, there was no way she would have children!

She had planned on walking to Allison's house, which was only a block away, but because of the rain Jason had come to pick her up and was sitting in his idling car outside her house. Jason's owl was in its cage on the front seat and Lucia was in the back with Allison. Hermione managed to squeeze in, but only because Allison and Lucia were very petite.

The drive to King's Cross was a bit sad because Hermione and Jason wouldn't see the others for months, but they both promised to write often and think of the girls every day.

When they arrived at the station they saw very few other students, probably because they had arrived reasonably early. The rain was coming down harder than ever and they would have gotten completely soaked if Hermione hadn't cast a Water-Repelling Charm before they climbed out of the car.

Hermione and Jason said their goodbyes – which were painful and took quite a bit of time – and went through the barrier to Platform 9 and 3/4.

Jason went to find an empty compartment, holding his owl cage on one hand and both their trunks in the other, while Hermione remained on the platform to wait for Ginny. She was aware Ron would be with his sister, and most likely Harry as well, and though Hermione really did not want to see them, sacrifices had to be made. This time around, she knew better. She would take Ginny under her wing. She wouldn't stand there and do nothing while the young witch ruined her own life. Ginny had so much potential...

So there she stayed, leaning against a wall, waiting for the Weasley girl. A few minutes later, though, she got bored and decided to have a smoke but couldn't seem to find her lighter anywhere on her person. It was no trouble lighting her cigarette with magic, but it was one of the things she simply liked doing the Muggle way. Fortunately, her problem was quickly solved when a very handsome Hufflepuff lit her cigarette with his own lighter.

She didn't recognise him so she just smiled in thanks and brought the cigarette to her lips. What she had failed to notice while this was going on was the arrival of the Weasleys and, in particular, the two boys a few feet away, who had begun arguing about whether or not the taller one should introduce himself after the older Weasleys had Disapparated. Argument apparently settled, the taller boy started walking towards Hermione and the other reluctantly followed.

"You had my light, can I have your name?" the Handsome Hufflepuff asked Hermione. Before she had a chance to reply, a voice from her left made her head turn and her insides twist.

"Hi, I'm Ronald Weasley. Are you new here, gorgeous?" said Ron with that stupid smile of his.

Hermione had a disgusted look on her face which did not go unnoticed by the Handsome Hufflepuff.

"Excuse me, I was talking to the lady," he said, towering over the younger boy.

"And who are you? Her boyfriend?" the Weasley boy asked.

"No, I'm Miles Long, the Head Boy," the Handsome Hufflepuff said, smirking.

"Hermione? Is that... It can't be!" came a voice from behind Ron.

"Hermione? Where? Bloody hell, I can't even talk to a beautiful girl without her showing up," the ginger said, looking around for Hermione.

Hermione didn't want to get her hands dirty by touching him, but she knew it would be worth it. She grabbed his chin and turned his head in her direction. "Right here, lover boy." She winked and pushed him backwards.

"Is there something you want?" she asked the flabbergasted boys. After receiving no answer, she sighed. "Just tell Ginny I want to speak with her."

She started walking away when an idea came to her. She stopped and turned around. "Hey, Miles, I know you probably have plenty of friends to sit with, but would you like to come share my compartment?"

"I don't suppose they'll be there as well?" Miles replied with a nod towards the two boys.

Hermione laughed derisively. "Them? No way! It'll just be me and a friend I'm sure you'll like."

"Well, in that case I'll join you." He smiled, following her onto the train and to her compartment.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Miles turned out to be more than just handsome; he was smart, witty and very pleasant. Just being around him made her feel better. Well, he _was_ a Hufflepuff. What she found strange was Jason's lack of signals. Miles was definitely Jason's type -Hell, he was _everyone's_ type!- and Jason had told her that if they met a guy he liked he would give her a signal so that they wouldn't end up flirting with the same guy.

The truth was that she wasn't particularly attracted to Miles, but he was just so handsome and perfect. She was thinking about this and playing with her hair, lost in her own world, when a knock on the compartment door startled her.

The door opened and a ginger-haired head peaked in. Looking inside the compartment, the girl to whom the head belonged frowned. "I'm sorry for bothering you, but I'm looking for Hermione Granger. I went through every compartment and I can't find her anywhere."

Hermione could barely hold back her laugh. She got to her feet and stood in front of the young girl, smiling at her.

The redhead's eyes widened and she jumped on Hermione, hugging her tightly. "Hermione, you look beautiful!" she squealed. "Not that you didn't look good before," she rushed to add. "But now you are... wow!"

"Come on, Ginny, sit down with us," Hermione proposed.

Ginny looked torn. "Uhh, I don't know... I mean, I want to, but..."

"What is it?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It's just that... when Harry and Ron sent me to look for you, they told me to ask you to come over to our compartment if you wanted to talk to me," said Ginny, blushing and looking down.

Hermione had kind of expected this. Ron would be furious once he understood what had happened, and Harry... Until that point he wasn't that awful. He would be concerned about her, he would have wanted to talk with her. But she really didn't want to see either of them. Last time she had seen them, Harry was cheating on Ginny with a prostitute and Ron was trying to convince her to spend their anniversary in Miami. The latter wouldn't have been so horrible if she wasn't a Legilimens. One look in his baby blue eyes and she knew all about the hotel reservations and the newest mistress waiting for him on Marco Island. The stupid wanker planned on Apparating from Miami to Marco Island when she wouldn't notice._As if..._As if she wouldn't notice and as if he wouldn't splinch himself. But it would be suspicious if she cut off all contact with the people that had been her best friends for three years. She decided to follow Ginny, but to spend as little time as possible with the boys.

"Alright. You go and I'll follow you," she replied with a grimace-like smile that would make Narcissa Malfoy proud. The minute Ginny was out the door, Hermione whispered to Jason and Miles, "I'll be back in a few minutes," and winked.

She followed the smaller girl through the corridor and into the compartment. Her smile, as unpleasant as it was, became more and more like a grimace than an actual smile. "Hello, boys," she said with contempt.

"H-Hermione..." Ron stuttered at the sight of her.

Harry very plainly tried not to look at her body, or her face. He seemed to be particularly interested in a spot behind her left ear, while Ginny motioned for her to sit down. She was glad she didn't have to sit with one of the boys; she would probably be unable to resist her homicidal tendencies if she were any closer to them. So she sat next to Ginny, glaring at the boys across from her.

"So, Hermione... You look... Um..." Harry started saying, but evidently had trouble finishing his sentence.

"Better than before, that's for sure!" Ron finished with a goofy grin.

"How was your summer, Hermione?" Harry said quickly, fearing Hermione's response to Ron's comment.

_This is going to be fun_, Hermione thought, and started talking in a nonchalant tone. "Nothing special. I made some new friends, redecorated my room, spent every day shopping for about two weeks, went out every night and went home in the morning, slept 'til noon, created quite an admirable porn collection, started smoking, ate some pussy, helped my new friends with their shoplifting, went on a cruise, snogged Jon Bon Jovi, got a tan, lost Crookshanks, became a millionaire and discovered the 12 Uses of Baby Oil."

The boys just stared at her, mouths gaping and eyes wide. They looked like cartoons with faces like that! She simply smiled serenely at them until she decided they were close enough to going into apoplectic shock. "Just kidding! My parents went on vacation the day after I came home and I was home alone for a month. It was mostly me and my books, although I did learn how to cook a bit better. Then my parents returned and wanted to spend time with me, so I had to cancel my plans to stay at The Burrow. Oh, and my mum took me to the hair salon and I changed my hair... That's pretty much it. I had you fooled before, didn't I?" she said with a faux-playful smirk.

"So, how was your summer? I'm sorry I didn't write much. You know how I get when I'm reading something interesting," she giggled.

"It's alright, we all know what a bookworm you are! Anyway, it was better you didn't come with us this summer. The Quidditch World Cup was a disaster! The night after the game, a crowd of Death Eaters wrecked the campground and then they went after some Muggles. And someone conjured the Dark Mark with Harry's wand!" said Ron, lowering his voice on the last part.

"That's just horrible! I'm glad I wasn't there – I could have gotten hurt. I hope you're both okay," Hermione said, pretending to feel sorry for them. Ron opened his mouth to say something but Hermione continued before he got the chance. "Now if you don't mind, I'll borrow Ginny for a while."

She grabbed Ginny and left in a hurry, practically dragging the poor girl with her. When they reached the next compartment, she opened the door, pushed Ginny inside, and then shut the door roughly behind them.

"I see you survived," Jason chuckled. He'd been the compartment's sole occupant before their return.

"Only barely." Hermione smirked and sat down across from him, motioning for Ginny to sit next to her.

"Oh, you poor baby..." Jason mocked and Hermione glared at him. She then noticed Ginny's discomfort and focused her attention on the girl. "You and I have a lot to talk about."

"Really?" the girl exclaimed.

"Yes! I thought about it and I realised I don't have any girlfriends here at Hogwarts. And then I thought of you and what great friends we could be," Hermione said, while Ginny looked increasingly excited.

"I would love to be friends with you!", she said.

Just then, the door opened again and Miles walked in. "Hey, you're back! I thought it'd take you longer and I went to speak with Professor Sprout," he said with a charming smile.

"Oh, that's alright." Hermione smiled back.

"You going to introduce us to your friend?" Jason asked.

"Yes, of course! Ginny is a friend of mine. She's a third year Gryffindor. Ron Weasley is her older brother but she's nothing like him." She turned to Ginny. "Jason here is a neighbour. His sister is a Muggle friend of mine. They used to live in Australia, so this is his first year at Hogwarts – he hasn't been sorted yet. Miles is a Hufflepuff, obviously. He's a Seventh Year, and the Head Boy," Hermione explained.

"You're Ginny Weasley? I was friends with your brother Charlie. He's a great guy. I know your brother Percy, too. He's a bit too uptight but he means well. So, little miss, which brother's footsteps are you going to follow?" Miles asked curiously.

"Uhh... I'm not sure. I haven't thought about it. Bill – my eldest brother – is a Curse Breaker. It sounds like an interesting career..." the redhead answered, blushing at his scrutiny.

"I'm sure you'll succeed in anything you choose. But in case you don't make it as a Curse Breaker, you could easily become a model." Miles smiled.

Ginny's eyes widened in shock. "Me?"

"Yes, you. You're a very pretty girl and I'm sure you're going to be a gorgeous woman. Believe me when I say that one day you will have wizards falling at your feet," Miles said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Ginny's cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink and she smiled shyly. "T-thank you..."

"If you don't mind me asking, are you a pure-blood, Ginny?" asked Jason.

She looked up. "Um, yes."

"I was wondering if you could help me with some wizard stuff... I don't know much about the Wizarding World and, although I don't really care about fitting in, I'm rather curious about your world. In Australia most wizards and witches are either half-blood or Muggle-born so there isn't a separate culture like there is here," Jason explained.

"Yes, sure! I don't really have any friends besides Neville, so I have lots of free time," said Ginny.

"Oh, that's right... Neville... How is he?" Hermione asked. She had completely forgotten Neville. It was a shame, because he was a man worth remembering. He was such a good man, he should have had a better life. He didn't deserve to be mocked all his life because people thought he was stupid. After he started teaching, things got better for him; he was kind of like Remus Lupin as a teacher – kind and helpful. He deserved much better, and maybe this time Hermione would be able to help him.

"He's fine. He's with Dean and Seamus. We wrote to each other during the summer. He didn't have any company and his grandmother can be really mean. She didn't even let him go to the World Cup! Well, I guess that was for the best, considering what happened with the Death Eaters..." Ginny's voice trailed off. "Hermione, can I ask you something personal?" she said, changing the subject.

"We can leave if you want to..." Miles suggested, and Jason nodded.

"Nah, it's okay," Hermione assured them.

"What you said before... Did you mean it? I may look stupid but I'm not. I know you were making fun of them when you told them you spent all summer at home reading books. What you said before that, was it the truth?" Ginny asked. Surprisingly, there was no disgust or shock in her voice, only curiosity and some hidden excitement.

Jason and Hermione exchanged looks, and then Jason asked her, "Did you tell them everything?"

"Not in detail, but yes," she laughed before turning back to Ginny. "If you promise not to judge, I'll give you the long, detailed version once we get to Hogwarts. Deal?"

"Deal!" Ginny giggled, looking extremely happy. All Hermione wanted to do was satisfy her curiosity, and she gave Ginny a small, knowing smirk.

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved farther north and the sky was very dark. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, full of delicious sweets. Ginny didn't have any money with her – Mrs Weasley always gave them food from home – and Jason only had Muggle money with him, so Miles offered to pay for everyone's sweets. Ginny's face became redder than her hair and she refused, stating that she wasn't hungry, but Miles insisted.

"I got it," Hermione mouthed to Miles, who dropped the subject. She reached into her pocket and took some Galleons, then put them in Ginny's hand, leaned closer so her lips were close to the girl's ear and whispered, "Just take it. That's what friends are for."

Ginny, who felt more comfortable with Hermione, accepted the money and bought some Pumpkin Pasties and Liquorice Wands. Hermione bought many Chocoballs and Chocolate Frogs, not bothering to hide her chronic addiction to chocolate. Miles bought Cauldron Cakes and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, which he shared with Jason, making the girls burst into laughter when either of the boys got an earwax-flavoured bean or something even more horrible, like vomit.

All in all, the ride to Hogwarts was very pleasant and Ginny stayed with them instead of returning to Harry and Ron's compartment. Hermione wished Ginny was in the same dorm with her so they could spend more time together. Instead, she had to live with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Well, maybe something could be arranged...

* * *

**A/N: More details about Hermione's "Summer Adventures" will be revealed in the next chapter or the one after that.**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. This Is Going To Be Fun

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: I would like to thank my Beta, smilelaughread, for her great work and my dear reader voldyismyfather for her encouraging words and her continuing support. Without smilelaughread, voldyismyfather and Remizak I wouldn't be as inclined to continue this story since, let's face it, out of the 300+ people that have read it only three are interested enough to tell me what they think. Frankly, I don't care about the rest of you. If I had people telling me my story sucked I would definitely be interested, but since you treat me with indifference I will do the same. So, this chapter and story is for Remizak, voldyismyfather and smilelaughread. And Alan Rickman because I can't stop thinking about him. You are sex on legs Alan, WE LOVE YOU!**

**P.S.: For explanations about the chapter, see the A/N at the bottom of the page.**

* * *

As the train doors opened, there was a rumble of thunder overhead. Hermione quickly conjured two umbrellas for Miles and Ginny when she saw them with their heads bent and eyes narrowed against the downpour. It was raining heavily and Hermione was glad she had casted that Water-Repelling Charm earlier.

Spotting Harry and Ron not so far behind them, she quickly lead Miles, Jason and Ginny to the nearest carriage. She shut the door shut and a few moments later the long procession of carriages was rumbling and splashing its way up the track toward Hogwarts Castle.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Through the gates and up the sweeping drive the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale. Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps.

Hermione, Miles, Jason, and Ginny jumped down from their carriage and hurried up the stone steps into the castle. Ginny slipped and would have fallen flat on her arse if not for Jason, who caught her just on time but dropped the trunks he was carrying - his and Hermione's. Ginny managed to mutter a "Thank you," though she was scared to death; the stones were slippery and she could have broken any number of bones. When he went to pick up the trunks again, Hermione rolled her eyes and simply levitated their trunks behind them. "_Amateurs_," she thought. _"They could hardly remember they had magic!"_ She pushed aside memories of her first year - all that time ago - and continued walking.

When they got inside the Entrance Hall, Ginny immediately noticed Peeves, who was dropping water balloons onto the students, so they moved quickly to the Great Hall. Not wanting to sit with Harry and Ron at the Gryffindor table, Hermione gladly accepted Miles' offer to sit with him at the Hufflepuff table. Jason followed Miles and Hermione since he hadn't been sorted yet and didn't have anywhere to sit. Ginny wanted to join the others but she went to the Gryffindor table instead, feeling guilty for not going back to the boys' compartment at all during the long train ride.

Sitting down between Miles and Jason, Hermione decided not to look at the Staff Table at all, not wanting any of the teachers to see her looking at them. Her main worry was Dumbledore. Unlike McGonagall, who would have a fit and Snape, who would try to anger her with acidic remarks, the Headmaster would do something different, something much worse; he would take an interest in her. He would be curious, wanting to find out how and why she changed so much in one summer. Her physical changes, combined with the fact that she had no intention of spending time with Harry and Ron, would make Dumbledore very curious indeed. And a curious Headmaster who also happens to be the third best Legilimens in Europe is a very dangerous Headmaster. Unfortunately for him, Hermione had been taught Legilimency by the best in the world. The same Master had taught Dumbledore as well, but he had forseen how much of a threat his student would be. Hermione was lucky enough to be taught by the Master when he was dying. Desperate to pass all his knowledge to someone who could handle it and use it well, he taught Hermione everything he knew, giving her an advantage against Dumbledore at the moment.

Confident in her abilities, Hermione conjured a notebook and a fountain pen, deciding to write the next chapter to her story, "Primal Instincts," until the Sorting ended. During the summer, she had found a wonderful way to make money. She'd started writing erotic novels, and even found a publishing company interested in one of them. There'd been a whole kerfuffle when she'd realized she did not look old enough to write such things, but magic did come in handy. She wanted to approach someone in the Wizarding World as well, but she wasn't sure. "Primal Instincts," was about a bunch of people who ended up in a desert island and had to survive until someone found them. There wasn't much plot but the sex scenes were extremely explicit.

_"Extremely explicit,"_ she thought. _"That would make one hell of a title for a chapter in one of my stories"._

While nothing had managed to distract her so far - not even the Sorting Hat's droning song - a punch on her left arm did the trick. It was Jason, who was about to get sorted. She would have punched him back but she wasn't able to because he started running, just in time for "Haysbert, Jason!"

She looked up from her notebook to watch her friend's Sorting. She wasn't the only one watching with interest, as Jason didn't really fit in with the eleven-year-old First Years. The Hat took about 4 minutes to decide where to put Jason before shouting "RAVENCLAW!"

Jason shrugged and went to sit at the Ravenclaw table next to a girl with short black hair.

She ignored Dumbledore's short speech and only put her notebook away when the food appeared. She wasn't that hungry but Hogwarts food was always delicious. She didn't eat much of the main course, just a steak and a small portion of mashed potatoes, but she couldn't resist the desserts. She had two chocolate gateaus and half of Miles' treacle tart, which he kindly offered to share. He really was a gentleman, and Hermione thought any woman who would marry him would be the luckiest in the world.

When Dumbledore rose to make his second speech, she didn't bother to listen. She already knew what was coming so she turned her attention to the doors of the Great Hall. A few minutes later, they banged open after a loud rumble of thunder, startling most of the students at Hogwarts.

It was none other than Barty Crouch Jr., posing as Alastor Moody. Hufflepuffs around her gasped, shocked by the man's appearence. She admitted that she had a similar reaction the first time she saw him too, but she had gotten used to seeing scars and missing face or body parts. His eye had stopped creeping her out a long time ago; she quite liked it actually. She wondered what to do about Moody. She couldn't leave him like this for a whole year, locked up in his chest. She would have to do something about Barty, and of course Voldemort. There were so many things to do! Maybe she should make a list...

"Hermione!" A voice from her right interrupted her thoughts. She turned around and saw Miles, who looked rather perplexed.

"I _know_ this man," he leaned closer and whispered in her ear.

"So? He's a well-known Auror, many people know him."

"No you don't get it. He works with my uncle, my dad's brother. He's a Muggle, he works for the CIA. I saw this man a year ago at my uncle's birthday. He looked kind of weird, you know, but all the people who work with my uncle are like that. I thought he was a Muggle, he introduced himself as Nick McGrath."

Miles' confession confused Hermione very much. In 1993, Moody would still be himself and not Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise. Did that mean Moody was with the CIA? Or is there a secret organisation of Muggles and Wizards? One way or another, she would have to warn Miles to stay away from "Moody". If Barty Crouch Jr. isn't aware of Moody's association with the CIA, then it would be better if he stayed unaware.

"Miles, I can't explain it to you for the time being, but please do me a favour and don't talk to him. Avoid him, pretend you never met him. Trust me on this one, it will only do you good," she whispered after making sure no one else could hear her.

"Okay, I trust you," Miles said with no hesitation, making Hermione smile a little. "But tell me what's going out as soon as you can..." he requested. She shrugged, not promising anything, and he turned to listen to Dumbledore talking about the TriWizard Tournament. He already knew about it but didn't know the details. Hermione, who remembered what had happened the first time, started making plans in her head.

"...And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!" Dumbledore finished his speech and the students got to their feet, swarming towards the double doors.

She hugged Miles and headed to her dormitory as fast as she could, wanting to get there before the other girls.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione managed to arrive before the other girls, but just barely. She got in the room, placed her trunk on the bed and charmed it to unpack itself and ran to the bathroom just before the door opened again and Fay Dunbar walked in with her best friend, Ginger Young. They didn't make much noise, so Hermione assumed they went straight to bed. Then the dormitory door burst open and two giggling girls walked in. Who else could it be other than Lavender and Parvati, who thought they owned the place? She waited for a couple of minutes and then got out of the bathroom, looking indifferent.

At first the girls paid no attention to her and kept talking and laughing, but then she caught Parvati's eye and the fun began. The girl's face looked nothing short of cartoonish, jaw dropped and eyes bulging out. When Lavender noticed this, she turned to look at the sight that had shocked her friend so much and had a similar reaction to Parvati's.

"Hi girls," Hermione said with an evil smile.

The girls managed to snap out of it and their expression changed from shock to confusion. "What _happened_ to you?" Parvati asked.

"Me? Nothing really, I just got tired of the whole bookworm look and decided to change. Like you said, who would ever want a bushy haired, buck tooth little nerd? So... How do I look?" Hermione smirked.

"What are you _wearing_?" Parvati asked aghast.

"Are you blind, Parvati? I'm wearing my uniform, what else?" Hermione replied. Technically, she was correct; it was her uniform, albeit a different version of it. The dark pleated skirt stopped several inches above her knees - not regulation length - and the white dress shirt was far too tight. It was also completely see-through and her dark red bra could easily be seen through the material. The only thing that had stayed the same was her Gryffindor tie. Her black tights were gone and in their place were white, knee-high socks. Her Mary Janes had been replaced with black all-star converse shoes. Hermione posed, finding that their repeated looks of complete shock were very, very amusing.

Lavender blinked, "What are you _doing_?"

Hermione finished unbuttoning her shirt and took it off completely along with her tie, revealing her dark red satin bra. Her breasts were still mostly undeveloped but that bra did wonders. "What does it look like I'm doing? Did you expect me to sleep with my clothes on?" She said, taking off her skirt and letting it fall to the floor. She removed her All-Stars and socks using magic and was now standing in front of them wearing nothing but her bra and her  
matching thong.

"Good Lord, if anyone saw your faces they would think you haven't seen a half-naked female before!" Hermione laughed at their expressions. The girls blushed and looked away, completely uncomfortable. She loved it!

Hermione summoned a satin babydoll that matched her underwear from her trunk and put it on, "Well, I'm going to bed now. Goodnight!" She said and went to lie in her bed. It was a fair bit smaller than she'd become used to, but it  
would do.

_"This is going to be fun,"_ she thought before falling asleep, a faintly sinful smile shaping her lips.

* * *

**A/N: The best Legilimens in the world, who taught Albus and Hermione is someone we all know but don't suspect.**

**Hermione's novels will play an important role in the future ;)**

**The girl with the short hair is Kristina Phillips and she will be important as well. At first she was going to have a small part but then this plot bunny appeared and... You'll see!**

**Why and how is Moody working with the CIA? And what will Hermione do to help him? (the real Moody, that is)**

**About Fay Dunbar and "Her Friend" (that girl has no name, she's officially "Fay Dunbar's Friend")... I just thought that this is a Hermione-centric fic and we should know more about her dormmates. The least I could do was provide "Fay Dunbar's Friend" with a name. Although her name is not really Ginger, it's Margaret and everyone calls her Ginger because of her hair.**


	5. Open Your Eyes, Lavender

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: I would like to reply to a review I received from a guest. If you're reading this, please create an account because I want my reply to be private. In order to explain some things to you I will have to reveal quite a bit about the story and I don't want to spoil it for the other readers by answering to you in public. However, if you do not wish to make an account, I will post a reply in the next chapter or the chapter after that. Anyway, I want you to know that I appreciate your review greatly and the fact that you took the time to read and comment on this story honors me. You have misunderstood some things -which is understandable considering this story hasn't even started yet- and you will make me very happy by letting me explain this story to you. Maybe I'll manage to change your opinion, who knows?**

* * *

It was a little past four in the morning when Hermione woke up. The rain wasn't as heavy as it had been the previous evening, but the sky was dark and full of clouds.

Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed. Usually this was the time she went to bed, not the time she woke up, and she didn't know what to do this early in the morning.

She stayed awake, lying there, for almost an hour, snuggling close to her pillows and trying not to cry. It was times like these when she missed him the most. His sweet scent, his soft touches, everything about him that made her feel like she was in heaven. She tried to forget that it was raining when she saw him for the first time after the war – when she really saw him for the first time. She tried to forget their clothes sticking to their bodies and the contrast of the cold she felt on her skin to the heat inside of her. She tried to forget the way her tears had mixed with the rain at his funeral, where only she had truly mourned him. His mother had been too drugged to cry – in fact, she'd barely been able to move. She'd died the next day from overdose.

Unable to hold back her tears anymore, she got up and headed to the bathroom, shedding her clothes along the way. She lay inside the large bathtub, waiting for it to fill with hot water. Most people wouldn't be able to stand water as hot as she did, but that was the way she liked it. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't a form of self-punishment. It wasn't hatred for herself that made her want to "burn her skin". She didn't aim to hurt, her goal wasn't to rub her skin raw - it simply helped her relax...

Conjuring a glass of Etna Rosso from the bottle inside her trunk, she tied her hair up magically into a loose bun. Her hair was still all over the place but that way she didn't get it too wet.

And then she cried, silently at first, because she missed him. Before long her quiet tearfulness turned to sobs because everything reminded her of him and she couldn't bear it.

She brought the wine glass to her lips and took a sip. However, her shaking hands couldn't hold the glass firmly enough and instead of placing it on the edge of the tub, she dropped it to the floor, where it shattered, startling her. She stopped crying for a moment and was reaching for a piece of the glass spread all over the tiled floor when she heard a voice from the doorway.

"Hermione?"

"What– what is it?" Hermione asked, letting the piece of glass fall from her hand immediately.

"Um, I heard the water running and... I woke up. Are you okay?" Lavender looked like a deer in the headlights of a speeding car. She just stood there in a loose-fitting, pink, cotton nightgown with white bunnies, a matching robe, and her fluffy bunny slippers, her plaited hair ruffled from sleep. In her arms were Hermione's underwear and nightgown. Her face was flushed and she swallowed hard upon seeing the red liquid near the broken glass.

"I'm fine," Hermione lied, as if her red-rimmed eyes and the pained expression on her face did not speak the truth.

"I found these on the floor." The girl held out Hermione's sleepwear for her to see. "I thought you might need them," she continued nervously.

Hermione nodded. "You can leave them next to the towels if you want."

The other girl did as Hermione requested and then reached inside her pocket, pulling out Hermione's wand. "I thought you might need this, too. I saw it on your bedside table." She walked closer to the tub hesitantly and held out her hand, giving Hermione her wand. "You should always have your wand with you," she said. "B-but I'm sure you know that," she rushed to add.

There was an awkward pause before Lavender spoke again. "Are you sure you're okay? Your eyes are all red."

"Your pulse has quickened, your breath is short, your skin is flushed, your pupils are dilated, your lips are parted, you're swallowing every two seconds, your palms are sweating and you see fit to ask me if I'm okay?" Hermione retorted, though she sounded more intrigued than sarcastic.

The girl seemed mortified and didn't move, just closed her eyes.

Hermione cleaned the wine and the pieces of glass from the floor wandlessly and pulled the plug from the tub. The water gurgled but she paid it no attention, turning to the red-faced girl. "Open your eyes, Lavender," she commanded.

Lavender's blue eyes shot open, but she remained silent.

"Come closer," Hermione requested, and the other girl obeyed. She then rose from the tub, placing a hand on the trembling girl's shoulder for support.

Lavender stared at the woman in front of her, utterly mesmerised. The sight of Hermione's nude, wet body sent shivers down her spine. Drops of water made their way from her neck to her small mounds slowly, a drop of water gathered on each erect, brown nipple and several others decorating the sides of her breasts. Lowering her gaze, Lavender noticed another very moist place; Hermione's hairless, smooth sex was glistening and Lavender instinctively licked her lips, wishing she could lick every single drop of water from that beautiful body. She was brought out of her reverie when Hermione put a hand on her chin and lifted her face, looking into her eyes.

"Can you please get me a towel?" she asked in a low voice. Lavender swallowed and did what the nude woman had requested, heart pounding all the while.

Wrapping the towel around her body, Hermione took her nightgown and underwear and left the bathroom with Lavender following behind.

"Come sit with me," Hermione whispered and then sat on her bed, removing the towel from her still-wet body.

"Dry me, will you?" she ordered, though it came off as more of a request. The girl did as told and started drying Hermione's body with the soft towel, lingering on some places more than others. When she was finished it was still very early – about five in the morning. Hermione asked Lavender to keep her busy for a while and the girl obliged despite wanting to sleep. Hermione didn't bother dressing.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG HGHGHGHG

While Lavender slept peacefully in her bed, Hermione went into the bathroom to get ready. All traces of sadness were gone and she decided to get on with her day. She chose to wear a pair of red lace booty shorts and a matching top, the shirt and skirt she had worn the previous day and her Gryffindor tie. The storm had blown itself out but it really was rather chilly and the ground would be muddy, so she opted for black, woollen, thigh-high stockings and her zebra-print rain boots. She charmed her hair into a slightly darker shade of blonde and decided to put some make-up on as well. It wasn't much; just a bit of mascara and her favorite coral lip gloss.

It was still quite early, meaning class wouldn't start for another two hours. Most students were still asleep, including the rest of her dormmates. She had time to kill. So, with nothing else to do, Hermione decided to go to the library and write some letters to her friends back home, as well as to some other people she desperately needed to contact.

The library was, thankfully, open and after some small talk with Madam Pince, she sat down with her parchment, envelopes, stamps and fountain pens – oh, how she detested quills! – and started writing. The first letter was to Allison and Lucia and was rather short. They had only been apart for a day, after all, and she had little to report.

The second was a note to Jones and Reyes, with whom she had worked closely in her former life. They specialised in many things, from potions ingredients and exotic animals – although that was usually the same thing – to rare books and antiques. Jones was a very attractive man, tall and lean with short, black hair and a bit of stubble. He had technically been in his late sixties when they'd met in 2018 but had been bitten by a vampire when he was younger and hadn't looked a day over 35. Reyes was taller and a bit on the heavy side, although his size could be because he was a quarter giant. He had long, wiry, brown hair and dark brown eyes, but didn't have a beard like Hagrid did. It was hard to determine his age, but he was much younger than Jones – he had probably been in his early thirties when she'd met him. She decided she should address the letter to Jones only, thinking upon that.

The third letter was to her publicist, letting her know "Primal Instincts" was almost finished and that she already had ideas for more novels. That was a lie, but Hermione came up with new ideas all the time so it didn't matter if little white lies were made to tide the editor over.

Her final letter was to her favorite bookstore, Sandrine's, which was in Sorbonne. In her former life, Hermione'd had a library to rival that of Hogwarts, and despite having all the titles and authors memorized it would still take time to purchase them all again.

When she finished writing the letters, she put them in her small, black shoulder bag and headed for the Great Hall, ready to eat and get on with her day.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

When she arrived to the Great Hall it was almost eight o'clock, and many students were already there. That included Harry, Ron, Ginny, Miles and Jason. She decided to go sit with Jason at the Ravenclaw table to ask him about his first night at Hogwarts.

"Good morning!" She kissed him on the cheek and took a seat next to him.

"Hey, sexy, how are you today?" he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich and chewing thoughtfully. His gaze held hers and she shrugged.

"Fine, I guess. I have to adjust my sleeping schedule, because I can't wake up at four in the morning every day," she said.

"You woke up at four? What did you do all this time?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Had a bath and talked with Lavender. She knows an awful lot about astrology! She stayed up half the night to draw my chart and stare at my boobs," Hermione chuckled.

"Do you think she's into you?" Jason whispered, keeping his voice low.

"No, but I think she wants to be!" Hermione laughed. "Anyway, how was your first night at Hogwarts? Did you have fun? Any hot blokes sleeping next to you?"

"Actually, I have my own room. Flitwick said Bettina arranged it with Dumbledore," he explained.

"Your Headmistress in Chatsworth? The one that had the hots for you?" She giggled behind the hand she'd raised to her mouth.

"Yep, that's the one! If she plans on visiting me, I swear I'll slit my wrists!" he groaned, though he had a small smile on his face.

"Aww, come on, she can't be that bad!" Hermione said, smearing liberal amounts of cherry jam onto her toast.

"She just doesn't get I don't want her! Or any other woman, for that matter... It's a shame because she can have any man she wants with her looks, brains and fortune. I just wish she would find someone else already, you know?"

There was a sudden rustling noise above them and hundreds of owls came soaring through the open windows, all carrying the morning mail. Neither Hermione nor Jason had any mail yet, but the owls reminded Hermione to give the letters to Jason. She wanted them posted as soon as possible.

"Could you please mail these later? They're letters to Allison, Lucia and some shops I need stuff from," she said, opening her bag and giving the letters to Jason.

"Sure thing. What's your schedule for today?"

"Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. You?"

"My schedule was organised by Bettina, 'cause she wanted to make sure I would be prepared for my FWEs. I have Transfiguration, Charms and for some reason Muggle Studies, as well. Any tips about the teachers?"

"Minerva McGonagall is the Transfiguration teacher, strict but fair. She's the Gryffindor Head of House but she doesn't show any favoritism. As long as you don't pull any tricks like you usually do, there won't be any problems. Flitwick's much more fun and he actually likes tricks so I'm sure you'll get along perfectly. Charity Burbage teaches Muggle Studies. I don't know what to say about her. Honestly, she's no expert. She's fond of Muggles but doesn't really know much about them. Most of the material taught is outdated and inaccurate, but her classes are Muggle-friendly. Don't interrupt her class, but you can correct her mistakes afterwards," Hermione said, finishing her breakfast. She'd had to put in some effort in drudging up memories of the professors, but she was confident she'd given him accurate information.

Jason looked at his watch, "Shit, class starts in 10 minutes. I'll see you later okay?"

"Yeah, I have to go to Herbology now. I'll look for you when I'm done," she said, standing and leaving for Greenhouse 3.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

As she sat on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She couldn't hide her sorrow and frustration. The second class of the day had been Care of Magical Creatures and her heart had almost broke when she saw Draco. She'd tried not to look at him, to focus on these blasted Blast-Ended Skrewts instead of kissing Draco 'till her lips bled. Her aching heart hadn't listened.

She'd paid no attention to Ancient Runes or Arithmancy the rest of the day, and had even skipped lunch and dinner... She felt sick to her stomach and all she wanted was to cry herself to sleep and never wake up. Maybe that way she'd be with him. Hopeful insanity bubbled up in her, and she wished harder than she'd ever wished for anything before. With that thought, she fell asleep.

What she saw the moment she opened her eyes again made her gasp. She was naked, inside some kind of giant bathtub, and in front of her was a young woman with wild, ginger hair and big, bright green eyes. Unlike Hermione, the redhead was dressed but not much of her clothing was visible.

She swam closer to Hermione and whispered in her ear, "Never waste a second chance, honey, you never know what the punishment might be."

Suddenly, the familiar pain of the Cruciatus shot through every nerve in her body, causing her body to convulse and her nose to bleed. Her head was knocked back and forth with the pain, and her blood was on fire. Her eyes were screwed shut in pain.

When she woke up, she was, thankfully, in a much better place.

* * *

**A/N: This is an SSHG story but there will be some DMHG, especially at first. Draco wasn't the love of Hermione's life but he was there when she desperately needed someone and he took away her pain. She can't just forget him like that, and it's going to be very hard for her, seeing his younger version every day.**

**About the LB/HG scene... It's mostly one-sided (Lavender-sided). It is just a crush, nothing more. It's a phase and it'll pass. Oh and Hermione did use Legilimency on Lavender.**

**Chatsworth Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry is Jason's old school. Bettina will of course make an appearence or two ;)**

**The redhead in Hermione's "dream" will play a big part in this story!**

**FWEs are Final Wizarding Exams, they're the NEWTs of Australia. Jason will not be sitting for NEWTs, just the FWEs.**

**P.S.: I would like to thank my Beta, TeamVampire. The story wouldn't be the same without her! :)))**


	6. Promises, Letters and Affairs

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: 5,115 words without a Beta! Yay! ****I would like to thank my dear friend worrywart for editing my story.**

* * *

Hermione woke up in the infirmary with her head placed firmly on Lavender's soft breasts, with Madam Pomfrey's Calming Draught about to kick in. It was morning, but that was all she gathered before her head went all fuzzy and everything seemed perfect. Her eyes closed and reality floated away.

The next time she woke, possibly twenty-four hours later, she was remarkably less happy, but Lavender was still there. She was feeling better, then, but wasn't very coherent. Her thoughts were still muddled and her sight was fuzzy. She realized with a start, as her mind lost the fog that had covered it, that Lavender had stayed with her the first night and the next morning. At least until Madam Pomfrey shooed her out around lunchtime.

After the Mediwitch determined that she had recovered sufficiently, Hermione asked Madame Pomfrey to allow her friends to come over - everyone except Harry and Ron - and thankfully she said yes. Other than the strange look at Hermione specifically mentioning Harry and Ron not being allowed, the Mediwitch also enforced the rules as well.

Miles had visited with a bouquet of chrysanthemums and an offer to do her homework while she was still knocked out and Hermione saw the flowers he'd left. When she woke up there was another vase with purple and white yarrows, and Madame Pomfrey told her Neville had brought them. She appreciated Miles' gesture, but she liked Neville's flowers more. After all, yarrows did symbolise healing. Jason had stopped by as well and left the letters from Lucia and Allison next to the flowers. She was now expecting Ginny, but the girl hadn't come yet.

She got up easily, feeling much better than before, and picked up Lavender's large pink bag. After being forced to leave Hermione's side, the girl went to her dorm and instead of getting some sleep decided to fill a bag with "necessities" and gave it to Madame Pomfrey, who promised to deliver it to Hermione.

The bathroom was close to Hermione's bed and she only had to take five steps to reach it. Once inside, she opened the bag and placed it to the floor. She pulled her hair up with a hair band and went to have a quick shower using the green apple-scented shower gel Lavender had provided her with. She hurried to finish her shower and dried herself with her wand, which was also in the bag between some clothes that appeared to belong to Lavender. Apparently, the girl hadn't touched Hermione's things and only took her wand. It was nice to know her dorm mates respected her privacy, though she suspected Parvati wouldn't have been as respectful. Putting on a pair of pink cotton knickers and a comfortable lilac dress, she used a spell to clean her teeth and many more stronger spells to clean -but mostly tame- her hair. She hated using spells to fix her hair, but she hadn't had the time to brew her special hair potion. She hadn't expected her hair would return to its normal state until next week, but her dream had apparently affected her physically.

She put on some lip gloss, picked up the bag and left the bathroom. When she returned to her bed, she found Ginny sitting there waiting for her. After greeting the younger girl, she got back on the bed and lay down, suggesting that Ginny do the same. Ginny didn't lay down but she sat more comfortably on the bed next to Hermione, kicking off her shoes before changing her position.

"Are you okay? Lavender said you had a seizure in your sleep and then your nose started bleeding. We all got so worried," the redhead confessed.

"I don't know what happened, it's all very confusing. All I remember is falling asleep on my bed and then waking up here," Hermione lied. She wasn't sure about what had happened in that dream, but she suspected it was much more than just a dream.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern. You're a real friend, Gin," the older girl smiled.

Ginny blushed, "Thanks, I came here yesterday but you were sleeping. I brought you a card, too. It's next to Neville's flowers."

"Aww, that's so nice! Now, I believe I made a promise a few days ago...", Hermione smirked. She knew she couldn't tell everything to Ginny yet, but the version Ginny would hear would be as truthful as possible, albeit somewhat censored.

"Oh, will you tell me about your summer?" Ginny asked excited.

"Yes, I will. But you have to swear that you won't tell anyone about it!" Hermione said firmly. She knew her friend would not willingly reveal information, but what if she told someone by accident, or perhaps someone would try to search her mind and Hermione couldn't afford something like that.

"I swear! I won't tell anyone, not even Harry!" the redhead insisted, unaware of the shields Hermione placed in her mind.

"Good. Now, before I start, I have to warn you. The real version of how I spent my summer is not suitable for children. Are you sure you want to hear everything and that you will not be traumatised, disgusted or angry?"

The younger girl scowled, "I know everyone thinks I'm a baby, but I'm not! You're more mature than I am, and I'm guessing much more experienced, but that doesn't mean I'm a child."

"I never said that. I just don't want to lose you as a friend. You're very important to me," Hermione said softly.

"I won't judge you, if that's what you're afraid of. I don't want to lose you either. You can be completely honest with me."

"Okay... But if at any point you feel uncomfortable, let me know."

"Oh just shut up and start talking!" Ginny exclaimed impatiently.

Fighting the urge to chuckle at Ginny's choice of words, Hermione did as told. "My parents, as usual, went on vacation without me. They usually ask someone from the neighborhood to babysit me. but they trusted me enough to be on my own this year. Normally, I just stay at home and read books, but this year I thought it would be nice to try something different, you know? I mean, what's the point of vacation if you just stay in a room with a pile of books? I decided to go out and have some fun. I was at the mall when I met the new neighbors, Allison and Lucia; Allison is Jason's sister and Lucia is her best friend who lives with her. They're both Muggles but they know all about magic."

"What are they like?"

"Allison is a nice girl, but she has a wild side. Lucia is a wild girl, but she has a nice side," Hermione laughed. "Lucia is a good person but she's had a rough life. Remember when I mentioned shoplifting?"

"I think so. What does that mean?" the younger girl asked confused.

"Shoplifting is when you're in a shop and take things without paying for them. You have to be careful because you don't want people to see you. Lucia doesn't have any money. She lives with Allison for free, but she doesn't want Allison to buy her the things she wants, so she steals them. It's a fucked up logic, I know, but that's what she does. She asked me to help her, and I did. I distracted the owner while she stole a bottle of perfume and put it in her bag. To tell you the truth, it kinda made me feel dirty. I didn't expect to feel bad, I mean I've done worse things, but I don't want to do it again.", Hermione admitted.

"I don't know. Sometimes I wish I could do the same thing. Mum has only taken me shopping two or three times, and every time I felt so bad because we never had enough money to buy what I wanted. I have never worn anything that wasn't second-hand, and now I see my dorm mates and all their things... Not just nice clothes, but make-up, perfumes, all kinds of pretty accessories and jewelry -even if it's mostly fake jewelry. I would _never_ shoplift; I barely have the courage to admit all these things to you, but I can definitely understand why Lucia did that.", the redhead confessed.

Hermione knew Ginny felt that way and did plan to do something about her friend's situation, but pushing the subject would be a bit too obvious, so she just nodded. "Yeah... wanna hear more?"

"Sure, tell me!"

"I spent a lot of time with the girls, we went out almost every night and went home in the morning! It was fantastic, but after a while I got sick of it. Partying is great, but doing it every night is not a good idea. All the bright lights and the noise at the clubs, and the guys groping you shamelessly and thinking they'll get in your pants with every drink they buy you. If I had a galleon for every time a guy grabbed my ass I'd be a millionaire by now!", she exclaimed.

Ginny nodded, but it was obvious she hadn't understood much of what Hermione had said.

"A club is a place where there is loud music, bright lights, and people drink and dance. You know that right?", Hermione asked.

"Uhm, now I do.", Ginny blushed.

"It's okay if you don't know things, all you have to do is ask."

"Why did these guys grope you? What made them think you would sleep with them?", Ginny whispered.

"Well ,I might have encouraged some of them. Girls in the Muggle world wear more revealing clothes, especially at clubs, and dancing is practically grinding against the other person. I don't blame these guys for wanting to have sex with me, but sometimes they don't understand that no means no. I met a few really hot guys at clubs, and some of them got what they wanted, but I'm not a hooker and I refuse to be treated like one.", Hermione explained.

"Can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer" Ginny asked, biting her lip nervously.

"You can ask anything, no matter how personal you think it is. We're best friends, you have the right."

"When you say that some of them got what they wanted, what do you mean exactly?"

"I'm sick and tired of playing the role of Miss Goody Two-Shoes. I'm smart okay? I study hard, I do all my homework in advance, I need to be prepared for every question a teacher may ask. These things are part of who I am, but I'm more than that. Yes, I'm the girl who knows all her school books by heart. But, to answer your question, I'm also the girl who gives handjobs to strangers in public restrooms.", Hermione answered.

"I know this will sound stupid of me, but... What's a _handjob_?", Ginny asked shyly.

The redhead's question lightened up the mood and Hermione chuckled, "A handjob is pleasuring a man with your hands. You have six brothers so I suppose you know what masturbation is. When you give a guy a handjob, you do exactly that. Masturbate him until he orgasms."

"Okay..."

Ginny seemed nervous and her face was flushed so Hermione asked what was going on. "Is this conversation making you uncomfortable? Do you want to change the subject? I don't mind."

"No! It's just that... Merlin I feel so silly! I... I don't know what orgasm means."

Hermione smiled, "So what? You can ask me about anything, and you don't have to feel silly. From now on just ask."

"I will.", the girl said smiling a bit.

"An orgasm is an intense feeling of euphoria. It's like your body relaxes and tenses at the same time. When a man is aroused, his penis grows and hardens which means he gets an erection. If he continues being aroused and stimulated, he will eventually ejaculate, which means semen will come out of his penis. Usually, during the ejaculation men orgasm."

"Oh. Uh, thanks for explaining it to me.", Ginny said. She looked disappointed and Hermione knew the reason. Molly had made sure Ginny knew as little as possible when it came to sex. There was only one discussion between mother and daughter, and it was before Ginny's wedding. Of course Ginny had heard things from other girls, but Molly always managed to convince her daughter these were lies, and that sex was something women just had to endure to please their husbands and have babies. Ginny believed orgasm was something only men had.

"During the summer, I started collecting things. Movies, magazines, pictures... Do you know what pornography is?"

"Pornography? I think so. Isn't it the dirty magazines boys have?" Ginny asked with a frown.

"Yes, but not quite. Any picture that depicts nudity or sexual situations is pornography. In the Muggle world we also have pornographic movies. Do you know what a film or movie is?"

"Yes, dad told me. Although he never mentioned pornography..."

"I can't show you a pornographic movie, but if you want I can let you look at some of my magazines and pictures.", Hermione proposed. She would feel uncomfortable looking at porn with Ginny but since it was for educational purposes she had to do her duty as a friend.

Ginny looked shocked, "B-But... These are for boys! And mum says they're disgusting."

"Lesson Number One: Stop caring about what your mother says or thinks. She treats you like a baby and she always will. She's trying to turn you into something you don't want to be. Do you want to live a life full of regrets?", Hermione asked trying to conceal her anger and frustration. She would do anything to prevent Ginny from repeating her mistakes, and reducing Molly's influence on the girl was the best way to do that. Molly wasn't evil by any means, but she was a ruthless, shrewd woman who wasn't satisfied until things became the way she wanted them to be. She had ruined her children's lives with her nagging, meddling and critiquing. But now there was a new bitch in town, and things were going to change.

"No, I don't. But I'm worried someone will find out..."

"No one will find out. Trust me. Now, do you want to hear about the cruise?"

"Yes! I can't believe you actually went on a cruise! It must have been so exciting!"

"It was lovely! We arrived at Copenhagen on the morning of the 1st. Allison and Lucia spent most of the time at the beach and then clubbing in Nyhavn, but me and Jace went to Rosenborg Castle, Stroget, Christiania and then we went clubbing."

"What are these places?"

"Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle in the centre of Copenhagen. It has beautiful gardens and we got to see the Crown Jewels and the Danish Crown Regalia. Stroget is a large shopping district and a tourist attraction. We shopped till Jason dropped because he carried all the bags. There were Muggles everywhere and it took us hours to find a secluded place to shrink them. At some point it occured to me to use a Lightweight Charm, but I thought why bother, he had been carrying the bags for like two hours so he had probaby gotten used to the weight by then. After we finished shopping we went to Freetown Christiania to...relax. We were pretty tired by then, but we wanted to check out the nightlife. We only stayed for a day, so we wanted to make the most of it.", _By being high as a kite, _Hermione thought.

"Did you have a good time clubbing or did the men there bother you?"

"We only went to Club Christopher and Vela. I can't say any men bothered me... I did meet someone though.", Hermione admitted.

"Was it the handjob guy?", Ginny asked excitedly.

"No, it wasn't.", Hermione laughed. _In fact, it wasn't a guy at all!_ "But I did many things with my hands that night... And my mouth."

Ginny seemed shocked but intrigued as well, "You really did _that_?"

"Like I said, I did many things that night. The _whole_ night, that is.", Hermione grinned.

"Did he... take you home? Or to his hotel room?"

"Guest house. Carsten's Guest House or something. It was amazing! I'll tell you all about it later."

"Where was Jason when all this happened?"

"In the room across mine, doing the nasty with some short, but drop-dead gorgeous guy."

"Is Jason... You know... Does he like boys?", Ginny giggled.

"Yeah, he's gay. Actually, he's homosexual. Gay is too cheerful a word for such a surly bastard.", Hermione laughed.

"He doesn't... Uhm, he doesn't really _look_ it."

"What do you mean?" Hermione inquired, but knew exactly what Ginny meant. _Damn Molly,_ she thought.

"Mum says boys who like other boys that way are, you know..._freaks._ She says they dress like girls, wear make-up, have feminine voices and try to force other boys to do things with them. Charlie always said mum was exaggerating and that these boys aren't freaks but..."

"But what? Does it bother you to be around gay people?" Hermione asked, keeping her voice as neutral as possible. Even if Ginny was homophobic, there was no need to be aggressive. Pretending not to mind and changing the girl's opinion in a subtle way would be much more efficient than yelling at her and calling her names.

"No! I don't care if a boy is gay or not. If anything, I feel safer being around a boy like that than I would with a "normal" boy. But it seems strange to me how Jason can like boys and _be_ a boy. He doesn't seem feminine, at least not to me. And he doesn't seem like dangerous pervert or an outcast. Mum says that's what gay men are."

Hermione seemed thoughtful. Thankfully, her friend was just ignorant and not homophobic. Ignorance was much easier to cure and the redhead seemed willing to learn. "Ginny, you seem to be an open-minded person, even if you know very little about sexual orientations and sexuality. We should really talk about this; I'm more than willing to explain everything to you. However, it would take hours to tell you everything I know about LGBT people and I don't think now is the right time to have such a lengthy conversation."

"What's LGBT people?"

"The dangerous perverts your mum talks about.", Hermione said, her voice full of sarcasm. "What you need to know for now is that homosexuals are normal people, who don't act or dress a certain way. They are individuals who just happen to be attracted to people of the same sex. Some gay men are indeed more feminine than others, but that's part of their personality as individuals."

"Really? I believe you, but I'm a bit surprised. Thanks for telling me this, I can't wait to talk about it more. Would it be okay if I asked Jason some things?"

"I'm not sure. He probably wouldn't mind answering your questions but it would be better if you waited until we talked.", Hermione proposed.

"Okay. Now tell me about the rest of the cruise!"

"Jason and I barely made it to the ship on time, and the girls were worried sick about us. My bad luck did not stop there, as my monthly visitor came an hour later. It was horrible, I didn't leave bed at all until we arrived to Amsterdam. I spent the entire first day on board."

"Poor thing. Did you stay in bed all day?"

"Not all day, but I did spend most of my time there. Thank Merlin I had a well-stocked mini bar and a huge TV. Around noon I got hungry so I went to one of the restaurants."

"Restaurants? There were restaurants on the ship?"

"Twelve of them; they were cuisine-specific. I went to an Italian restaurant and ate a ton of pasta. There was also an ice cream parlor and a spa. I had some chocolate ice cream, went back to my room to take a nap and then I went to the spa to get a massage. The next morning I felt marginally better so I decided to do some shopping. Because they had abandoned me the previous day, I dragged Jason and the girls everywhere I went and made them carry my bags of course. I've never shopped so much in one day. P.C Hoofstraat, Kalverstraat, Leidsestrat, Beethovenstraat... I went to all the major shopping districts! I bought clothes, perfumes, jewelry... I got you something too, but it's a surprise.", Hermione smirked.

"Really? Thank you so much!", Ginny said and gave Hermione a bone-crushing hug. After letting go, she asked, "So, what did you do next? Did you go clubbing again?"

"Oh Gods no! We had some coffee in De Wallen to relax and then we went shopping for some other things..."

"How did coffee help you relax? And what's De Wallen?"

"It was... special coffee. We don't have it here. De Wellen is a Red Light District."

The younger girl stared at her in shock, "You went to a-a brothel?"

"Of course not! I told you, I went shopping."

"What could you possibly buy from a place like that except sex?", Ginny whispered.

"Toys.", Hermione grinned. "I'll tell you later.", she said noticing the redhead's confused look.

"Ok. Where did you go next? Did you feel better or did you stay at the ship?"

"My period didn't bother me at all from that point. I bought some..._local herbs_ that helped a lot with my situation. The next stop was Cannes and we stayed there for two days. We spent most of the first day at the beach, swimming and tanning. I didn't go into the water but it was still fun. The next day we went shopping, and we ate so many sweets Jason threw up on Allison. That night we also went to a casino, we had a great time!"

"What's a casino?"

"It's a place to gamble. Anyway, next morning we were at Barcelona. We shopped, enjoyed the wonderful beaches, ate some seafood and really good waffles... We left for Monaco that evening and arrived around noon the next day. My period was over by then so I could actually swim, though relaxing at the beach and flirting was admittedly much more fun. In the evening we went to a bar to have some drinks, and then we headed to the Sun Casino in Monte Carlo."

"Another casino? You should be careful with gambling, don't want to end up like Ludo Bagman who owes money to everyone.", Ginny frowned in concern.

"Nah, I was feeling lucky. I won quite a bit of money so I decided to go to the other casinos. At the end of the night, I had visited all the casinos in Monaco.", Hermione said happily.

"Judging from the expression on your face, I'm guessing it went well, right?"

"Hmm... Let's just say they are going to talk about me for quite a while...", Hermione smirked. Brewing a pint of Felix Felices had been a smart move indeed. "The next day I emptied half the shops in Monaco. Hermes, Gucci, Prada, Cartier... Most of the tourists there don't buy anything because of the high prices so everyone looked at me like I had three heads. We left that evening and arrived to Sardinia the next afternoon. I fell in love with that place. The food is to die for, the beaches there are simply the best. I spent so much time at the restaurants and at the beach I barely had time to shop."

"What did you get from there?"

"I bought many bottles of local wines; Cannonau, Vernaccia di Oristano, Limoncello and Mirto. I may not drink them all but I thought they would be nice gifts. The girls bought coral jewelry but I didn't, none of it looked good on me. The only piece of jewelry I got from Sardinia was a golden filigree necklace Jason gave me."

"In how many other places did you go?"

"Only Sicily. We left Sardinia at night and a few hours later we were in Sicily."

"What did you do there? Did you go to the beach? Did you shop?"

"I ate. I practically lived at the restaurants there. What can I say, I just love Italian food. The only thing I bought was wine, lots of it. Mostly Amaro Siciliano, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Malvasia Nera and Nero D'Avola, but also a ew bottles of Marsala and Etna Rosso."

"You _ate_?", Ginny laughed.

"Well I did go sightseeing with some locals... The scenery is amazing in Sicily. But I did a lot of eating. My ass didn't get so big by itself you know!", Hermione laughed. She didn't really mind the curves she had acquired over the summer, though she wished her breasts had gotten the message as well. They were still the modest B-cups they had been when she first saw them.

The girls were laughing when Madame Pomfrey came back and made Ginny leave. She informed Hermione that since she was doing better she could sleep at her dorm that night and attend classes the following morning, but warned her that she should immediately return to the Hospital Wing if something similar happened again.

After finishing her meal, Hermione placed the tray on her bedside table and took the envelope that contained Allison and Lucia's letters. Lucia's letter made her laugh. The girls spelling was atrocious!

_Hay Hermi!_  
_I new ur little autfit woud make en imprecion! I told u girl, u lookd super hot in that thing! That Miles dude sounds greit! Do u think his into u? The boys hear ar ol preppi end stooped. The idiots -olso nown as teechers- ar stooped to, I heit skool! Allison sez it will emprov mi Inglish, but I dont think I'll last mor then e wik in this pleis. I miss u! If u wear hear wi woud fak things ap! Teech thoouz rich girls a lesson! Do u now one of them sed I woz stooped? But its okay I broke her nose hehe... Steel its no fan withaut u! I wish u wear hear! Do u think u can sneek aut of this skool of urs end Upareit hear? I hope so..._

_Luciaaaaaaaa! _

Allison's letter was longer and more informative:

_Dear Hermione,_

_I'm glad things went well and the other girls were jealous of you, although we all knew that would happen!  
School started and I can't say I like it very much. Chatsworth was much better, though I admit it's rather nice not having to worry about dungbombs and other magical pranks. Lucia is having a bit of a hard time and has already sent one girl to the hospital. The bitch was worth it, but I don't want Lu to get in trouble all the time.  
Miles sounded wonderful, he acted like such a gentleman! I hope I had a boyfriend like that... Do you think he fancies you? I hope he does, he seems the type to treat his girlfriend like a princess. How are things with Jeannie? I'm sure she'll love her presents! I know I did.  
__Again, thanks for all the stuff you gave me! You don't ever have to buy me Christmas or birthday presents again! Mom almost fainted when she saw that golden bracelet and the canary diamond earrings! It's funny how money can chang people's opinions like that. It took my mom weeks of convincing from me, Jason and Dad to let me go on a cruise with you but once she saw the stuff you bought for me and Lu, you suddenly stopped being "That little slut whose skirts barely cover her arse" and became "That lovely girl with the excellent taste". But I guess it's better this way.  
Oh, I almost forgot! Ever since you left, your mother has been doing some strange things. Nothing too strange, just out of the ordinary. She's gone a lot. She leaves your house about the same time we do in the morning, and returns an hour before your father comes home from work. She also hired someone to take care of the garden. I thought gardening was her hobby or something... I don't know, maybe these things mean nothing but I thought you should know. Anyway, how soon do you think you'll be able to visit? We missed you._

_Love, Allison. _

Hermione found her mother's behaviour strange but she didn't care much. Jean was probably having an affair, which wouldn't be surprising. She always thought and acted like she was doing her husband a favor by being with him. Hermione's father, albeit dull and predictable, was a good man. Hermione had an excuse to feel superior when she was married to Ron, but Jean had a loyal, hard-working man who loved her more than anything and therefore had no excuse.

After giving it some thought, Hermione decided not to do anything about it. Telling her father would only make things more complicated and there was no reason to do that. However, finding her father a girlfriend wasn't such a bad idea...

* * *

**A/N: I had promised to post a reply to Guest's review, so here it is!**

**My reply to Guest:**

**I am currently working on an original story actually. I haven't written anything yet because my research isn't finished and I haven't created the universe the story is set in. First the universe will be created, then the characters and then the plot. I know I'm not a great writer which is why I write fanfiction. I want to improve and practice helps a lot.**

**Do you _know_ my Hermione Granger? Do you honestly think that her personality will stop evolving at the 4th chapter? Do you think you can judge someone you know so little about? People change, so why would Hermione stay the same? Or do you think 25 years mean nothing and people in their 40s have the same thoughts, fears and worries they had in their teens? **

**Well I don't like the Harry Potter books and I don't like Harry Potter either. I like Harry Potter fanfiction, and that's it.**

**Honey, there's no "supposed to" here. You don't suppose, you understand. She made bad choices. She was given a second chance. You are not _supposed_ to feel anything, I give you a character and it's up to you to feel whatever you want. Do you really think the concept of a person in their mid 40s acting completely immature and superficial is something new? Forget about books and stories, look at real life. Haven't you seen middle aged men dressing like 20 year old boys, going to clubs and embarrassing themselves? Or grown women wearing their daughters' clothes and hitting on boys half their age? It's called a Mid Life Crisis, and IT HAPPENS. In fact, there are some people who never get over it and continue acting like that in their 60s which is just sad (trust me, I've seen it happen!). But like I said before, Hermione is the main character and she will evolve. She will "come to her senses" eventually and realise that even though in her second life she can afford to act like a rebellious teenager, it won't get her anywhere. It's pointless and it just...doesn't work. But I don't want to give away too many spoilers!**

**This is life! And it has no genre! Life is a bit of everything, and this story is about Hermione's second chance in life.**

**Maybe you are giving this story too much credit, but certainly not for that reason. If I want to write a Hermione who is only sexy and nothing more, I can write a PWP instead of writing an actual story that takes time and effort I cannot afford to waste. **

**I don't agree with everything RH writes, just most of the things she writes. And have we read the same essays? Take a look at my profile and you'll find a part of RH's essay on Snape. Hint: It's not that flattering.**

**This is one of the things I don't agree with RH. I don't like any of the HP books. They're children's books _even if they really aren't._**

**Honestly, RH's essays did grant me MUCH more pleasure than any of JKR's books. You may not agree, but that's my opinion.**


	7. Observing

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: This is mostly a filler chapter and it's UnBetaed. My Beta will edit this chapter and the previous one when she can. She went through an unpleasant experience recently and I hope things get better for her. **

* * *

Hermione made it to "Moody's" first class just in time. Lavender had been pestering her all day, practically stalking her and asking if she was okay every ten minutes. The attention was flattering but enough was enough. She sat on the front seat next to Neville, completely ignoring Harry and Ron. She wasn't quite sure yet about how she would play this, but she had confidence in her abilities.

"You can put those away," Fake Moody growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them." Hermione hadn't bothered to take out her book from her bag, so she just sat there smiling calmly. He then took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swivelled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered. Hermione knew he had noticed her, and correctly assumed that her smile was more calculating than it was calm. Unlike the other students who were either nervous, afraid or excited, she seemed completely unfazed.

"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?"

There was a general murmur of assent.

"But you're behind - very behind - on dealing with curses," said Fake Moody. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out. _So typical of him,_ Hermione thought. That boy never thought before he opened his mouth.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Fake Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago… Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore… One year, and then back to my quiet retirement.". He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together. "So - straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful."

Death Eater or not, Barty Crouch taught them many things while pretending to be Moody. "Constant Vigilance" was hard to enforce in everyday life, and most students rejected it even as an idea claiming it was unnecessary, not to mention the Aurors who despite knowing the dangers of letting down one's guard, dismissed Moody's advice as paranoia. Yet, constant vigilance was the only way to survive in dangerous times. Hermione knew from experience terrible things could happen when people weren't watchful of their surroundings and prepared for the worse situations.

"So… do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?", Fake Moody asked. Hermione's hand rose confidently and she looked him right in the eye -the real one-.

"Moody" seemed interested in her response and pointed at her, giving her permission to answer his questions and turned both his eyes on her.

"The curses most heavily punished by wizarding law are The Unforgivables; the Imperius, the Cruciatus and the Killing Curse, also known as Avada Kedavra. They were first classified as "Unforgivable" in 1717," Hermione answered without averting her eyes.

"Moody" seemed surprised, but even more intrigued. He smiled at her and spoke, "I see you're not as behind as I had thought. Five points to Gryffindor, Miss Granger. Can you tell me the effects of each curse?"

Hermione smiled back and easily answered the question, "The Imperius Curse places the victim in a trance or dreamlike state, leaving him or her under the complete control of the caster. Should he or she be ordered by the caster, the victim can do things they would be physically incapable otherwise. The curse affects not only humans, but animals as well. The Cruciatus curse inflicts excruciating pain to the recipient, although that depends on the desire of the caster to cause pain purely for its own sake. In fewer words, you have to _really_ mean it. The Killing Curse causes instant and painless death. There is no way to block the Killing Curse or resist the effects of the Cruciatus but resistance to the Imperius is possible."

"Well done Miss Granger, ten more points to Gryffindor. Now, how about a live demonstration?" Fake Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. He reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Imperio!"

The spider leapt from "Moody's" hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. "Moody" jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance. Everyone was laughing - everyone except "Moody" and Hermione. "Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter died away almost instantly.

"Like Miss Granger said, the Imperius curse can be fought and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked, and everyone but Hermione jumped. _And I was wondering when he'd say it,_ she thought.

Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desktop, where it remained motionless. "The Cruciatus Curse," said Fake Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at the spider and making it swell. "Engorgio!". Fake Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "Crucio!"

The spider displayed the usual symptoms, twitching, shuddering and jerking in pain. "Moody" did not remove his wand until Lavender screamed at him to stop. Hermione's only reaction to the spider's torture was to hold Neville's hands in an effort to comfort him. When "Moody's" little show ended, Neville looked at her, something between gratitude and confusion in his kind brown eyes.

"Moody" then reduced the spider's size, put it back inside its jar and placed the third spider on the desk. "The last and the worst... The Killing Curse." He raised his wand and roared, "Avada Kedavra!" killing the spider instantly. "Like Miss Granger said before, there's no countercurse, there's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me," Fake Moody said referring to Harry.

_He wouldn't be sitting here if Lily Potter hadn't sacrificed herself for him,_ Hermione thought.

"Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it - you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it. Now, if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and the whole class except Hermione jumped again. "Now... Remember that the use of any of these curses on a fellow human being will earn you a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills… copy this down…"

They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable curses. Hermione didn't want to take notes as she already knew everything, but decided to take notes after all when she saw Neville's didn't make sense at all. When class ended she gave him her notes and practically ran to the Great Hall, avoiding the boys. She decided to sit with Jason again. She couldn't sit at the Gryffindor table with Ginny and Miles had his own friends so Jace seemed like the most logical option.

Although her stomach had been bothering her all day, when dinner was served she suddenly felt very hungry. She had two servings of roast beef and mashed potatoes, one custard tart and some of Jason's custard tart as well - much to his annoyance. She could feel Harry and Ron staring at her so she asked Jason if she could sleep with him that night and after realising the question was rhetorical, he agreed.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Hermione undressed while Jason was in the shower. Her shirt and tie were folded on the bed and she took off her skirt, letting it fall to the floor. She sat on the bed and removed her black leather riding boots and her black socks, leaving only her underwear on. She felt rather sleepy so she went through Jason's clothes and borrowed one of his shirts, intending to transfigure it to a nightgown.

"Pink lace, Hermione?" Jason asked with an amused tone in his voice. He had just finished showering but was dry and fully dressed in his pajamas.

"Well if you don't like it, I can take it off.", Hermione smirked.

Trying to remove the image of a naked Hermione from his head, Jason changed the subject, "What are you doing there with my shirt?"

"Stealing it. I want to sleep with something that's yours every night," Hermione said batting her eyelashes and then transfigured the shirt to a simple white cotton nightgown.

"You better stay on your side of the bed tonight," he warned.

"Don't worry, I won't rape you in your sleep," she said and reached for her wand inside her bag. With a flick of her wand, Jason's king size bed became even larger, big enough for five people to sleep comfortably.

Jason raised an eyebrow, "Hmm..."

"Hmm too. Are you done with the bathroom? I want to clean my teeth," Hermione yawned.

"I'm done. Are you going to sleep anytime soon? I have homework to do and I'm going to have the lights on for an hour or two."

"Leave the lights on for as long as you need, I'll just put a sleeping mask on," Hermione said and went to the bathroom with her toothbrush and a bottle of Dental Cleaning Potion.

When she came back, Jason was lying on the bed doing his homework like he had said he would. She would charm her quill to do her homework in the morning. She was dead tired, so she went immediately to bed.

The next morning, she woke up knowing exactly what she would do about the "Moody Situation".


	8. Mr Green and Miss Collins

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: I would like to thank cosmoGirl666 for following this story. For this reason, I'll explain some things about this chapter (see A/N at the end of the chapter). Btw, this chapter is UnBetaed.**

* * *

The 30th of October had arrived and it was the day Hogwarts welcomed the students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. The two schools made impressive entrances, but it was nothing Hermione hadn't seen before. The Hogwarts students were unsurprisingly interested in the Beauxbatons girls and Durmstrang boys, but Hermione could only think of Draco. He hadn't bothered her at all since school started, but she could feel his eyes on her during classes and resisting the urge to drag him to a broom closet and shag him senseless was becoming increasingly difficult. However, she did know a potion that would make things better although she needed some of the ingredients she had ordered from Jones to brew it.

It had been almost three weeks since she wrote to Jones and she had only just received his answer. She supposed she should be thankful, since Jones was an extremely busy man. Knowing him, she had ordered items worth thousands of dollars and sent part of the sum in advance. Nothing made Jones reply faster than the prospect of earning lots of money. However, the reply Hermione received was not from Jones.

_Dear Mr. Green,_

_We are pleased to make your acquaintance. Your order is not ready yet, but it will be as soon as possible. However we do have some of the items you have ordered and if you wish to receive them, we can have it delivered to you within two days after you send your message. The package containing them will be shrunk and will have no marks, logos or a distinctive color and it will be wrapped in brown wrapping paper. When you receive said items (or the entire order if you choose to wait), we request that you send your payment as soon as you can in a golden envelope with your name on or in it. _

_P.S.: Mr. Jones will not be available for at least a month._

_Sincerely,  
Mr. Chang of Chang & Jones._

She did not know who this Mr. Chang was but he was definitely more polite and professional than Jones. She really needed some of the stuff she had ordered, especially the potions ingredients, so she wrote a note to Mr. Chang requesting everything he had managed to gather thus far. She wrote a quick note to Mr. Chang and got dressed. She opted for a pair of comfortable pair of black cotton panties and a matching bra. It was her time of the month and sexy lingerie were not her top priority. She put on her shirt, her tie, a pair of black tights to keep warm and her favorite black converse all-star boots. The weather was getting colder and colder so she wore her leather jacket almost every day. Her hair was becoming curlier and harder to manage, which reminded her it was time to apply the potion she used to tame it. However, she was already late for breakfast so she decided to leave her hair as it was -not that terrible- and head to the Great Hall.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

Transfiguration had been boring as usual; everything was so easy... McGonagall's speech reminded her of the OWLs they would be taking next year. In her previous life she had only managed to get 10 OWLs, which she regretted. This time she would ask McGonagall for another Time Turner in order to attend Muggle Studies as well. Under no circumstance would she take Divination again which meant she wouldn't be able to get all 12 OWLs but still, 11 was better than 10.

After Transfiguration they had double Defence Against the Dark Arts. Hermione had been prepared for this DADA lesson and wasn't surprised when "Moody" announced he would be placing each of them under the Imperius curse. Of course she planned to let it control her, she wasn't a fool. Over the past couple of weeks she had managed to impress "Moody" and prove herself to be as bright as everyone said she was, but she would be an idiot if she let him know she was able to resist Imperius. Students around her gasped and protested but she simply sat calmly next to Neville.

Thankfully, he didn't have her do anything as embarrassing as the other students did. Poor Lavender was forced to imitate a squirrel. Then Harry did his thing - always trust Potter to put on a show - and Hermione lost interest from that point on.

When class ended she had to - once again - leave the classroom in a hurry to avoid Harry and Ron. Thankfully the TriWizard Tournament would start soon and they would get off her back at least for a while. Ron practically came in his pants every time he saw Viktor or Fleur.

She had been thinking about her actions regarding said tournament, and decided to make some necessary changes. The loss of Cedric Diggory had been a significant one and she would do anything to save him, even if she had to use the Imperius to prevent him from participating. She had asked Miles to convince him and he had apparently succeeded since Cedric hadn't put his name in the Cup yet. However she still worried, considering he had a whole day to change his mind.

She wasn't sure about her actions concerning Viktor. She wanted to become his friend, and not lose contact like she did in her previous life, but the more Hermione thought about it, the dirtier her thoughts got. Viktor was a gentleman and when he accompanied her to the Yule Ball the first time, he asked nothing more than an innocent kiss, which was agreeable to her old self. This time, Hermione wanted something different, like give him a blowjob behind the rose bushes.

She also thought about getting closer to Fleur too. Not in the way she wanted to get closer to Viktor - skinny blonde French bitches weren't her thing - but the Delacours were a well-known family and Gabrielle was a sweetheart. The poor girl was always overshadowed by her older sister despite growing up to be a much more beautiful woman than Fleur. Fleur's beauty was cold; she was the Ice Queen. Gabrielle was full of life and passion; she was the Enchantress. Fleur could captivate you with her steely blue eyes and her Veela charms, but Gabrielle didn't even have to try. Gabrielle had been by far Hermione's favorite sister-in-law. Angelina was nice -and almost as depressed as Hermione - but Audrey was a snobby bitch and Ruslana was a bit too hairy.

Getting out of the shower and drying herself, Hermione looked at the clothes she was going to wear; pantyhose the color of her skin, a tight grey knee-length pencil skirt, a white dress shirt, a pair of dark grey high heeled pumps and a silk cloak, whose color was a silvery grey. The clothes didn't quite fit her, but they would soon. Going through her bag, she retrieved a small tin box and placed it on her lap. Opening it, she reached for _Number 28, Copenhagen_. She took the sample and threw some of it to the bottle that contained her potion before drinking a few sips. Almost immediately, her body started changing.

Her height increased at least three inches and she became slimmer, losing her curvy figure. Her breasts were slightly bigger and her butt smaller. Her wavy, honey blonde hair turned black, and her face transformed as well. Her eyes became more cat-like and the color was now a light green. Her nose was longer and not as upturned, her cheekbones not as high and her lips became thinner. She put on some make up, grabbed her black leather purse and touched the small bottle of nail polish, disappearing from Jason's room.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

She appeared in the small alley between Eeylops Owl Emporium and Potage's Cauldron Shop, in walking distance from her destination. She walked for less than five minutes before arriving at The Three Broomsticks, and made her way in. It wasn't a very busy night and there were a few empty tables. Noticing her "date" hadn't showed up yet, she chose the table on the far left corner and settled there. It was only two minutes later that the person Hermione was expecting walked through the door, looking around trying to spot her. Hermione caught the woman's eye and nodded, smiling to herself.

"Hello, Miss... Cullen, is it?" the woman said in a somewhat polite way.

"_Collins_, actually. But you can call me Lynn," Hermione retorted with a deceiving smile and calculating look on her face. "Please sit down," she asked graciously and the woman obliged.

"Then you can call me Rita, dear. Is it true you have information about the TriWizard Tournament?" Rita inquired reaching for her notebook and her Quick Quotes quill.

"It is true. I would not have asked a meeting with you otherwise. However, this discussion is, like Muggles say, off the record. I will give you some information, but nothing will be written down until we come to an agreement. If we do, you can take notes from the next meeting and on," Hermione stated. Rita opened her mouth to speak, but Rosmerta came to take their orders and interrupted her.

"Hello, what would you like to order?" Rosmerta asked putting a lot of effort into her smile. It was obvious she detested Rita Skeeter, but then again who didn't?

"A glass of elderflower wine, if you have it," Hermione requested.

"I'll have the same", Rita added hastily. "You may leave now, we are in the middle of a conversation." Rosmerta did as told, glaring at Rita. Ignoring this, the reporter continued, "What information do you have and what are your terms?"

"Right now, there's not much to say considering the tournament hasn't even started yet. But I have a very reliable source willing to reveal many interesting things about the tournament and its champions. As for my terms... I expect full anonymity on my part and my source's. I wish to see all your articles before you submit them to your editor and of course I expect a financial reward," Hermione explained.

"You and your source can trust me to keep your names out of my articles. Compromising the source's identity would be extremely inconvenient and if you want to remain anonymous that is your choice. You can have access to my articles, although I refuse to make any significant changes. They will be _my_ articles, after all. Your financial reward will depend on how interesting your information will be. The more shocking the news are, the more will be the Galleons in your Gringotts account."

"Seems to me we have a deal, Rita," Hermione smirked.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

A few hours later, Hermione returned to Hogwarts satisfied. After the meeting with Skeeter had finished she went for a walk to clear her head. Of course she dismissed the concept in mere seconds, as there was no chance for her mind to pause even for a moment -unless she was under the influence- and decided to think about her actions regarding the TriWizard Tournament. She reached a conclusion which surprised even herself and headed back to Hogwarts straight away.

She hoped her decision would seem just as wise to her the next day as it did now, because there were lives at stake.

* * *

**A/N: "Mr. Green" is one of Hermione's aliases. She sent her original letter to Jones along with her other letters, to Allison and Lucia. Allison then took the letter and sent it to Jones. Since Jones wasn't available, Chang (his associate) replied instead. He sent his reply to an address Hermione/Mr. Green had given him. The address is in the Muggle world (if you want more details, fucking review). Allison went to that address, took the reply from the mailbox and sent it to Hermione with Jason's owl, Louis. **

**"Lynn Collins" is another alias of Hermione.**

**P.S: I'm changing Gabrielle's age from 8 to 13 for reasons that will be revealed later.**


	9. Little Champion

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

It was time.

The Halloween Feast was almost finished and Dumbledore would be announcing the names of the champions soon. Having sated her hunger with pork chops, roast potatoes and a large piece of apple pie, Hermione waited for Dumbledore to finish eating along with the rest of the students. This time she sat at the Gryffindor table next to Ginny -whose seat was thankfully away from Harry and Ron's - and chatted idly with the redhead.

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state and Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked tense and expectant.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated the door behind the staff table - "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He took out his wand and extinguished all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins, plunging the Hall into a state of semi-darkness._ The old fool was such a show-off sometimes,_ Hermione thought.

"Who do you think the Hogwarts champion will be? I bet Cedric Diggory!" Ginny whispered in Hermione's ear.

"I don't know... It could be Angelina Johnson." Hermione suggested innocently. However, she wasn't the least bit innocent.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!" Dumbledore announced and a storm of applause and cheering swept through the Hall. Seconds after the students' attention went on the goblet again, it shone red once more and a second piece of parchment shot out of it. "The champion of Beauxbatons is...Fleur Delacour!"

When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again. Hermione couldn't wait to hear the two names of the Hogwarts champions, but more importantly, see everyone's reactions.

"The Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore called, "is Harry Potter". Hermione barely contained her laughter. The Headmaster's tone went from strong and confident to confused and disbelieving in one little moment.

There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry as he sat, frozen, in his seat. Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.

Then, before staff and students had a chance to comprehend what had just happened, another piece of parchment shot out of the cup and flew to Dumbledore's hands. Clearly enraged, he shouted the name aloud, "GINEVRA WEASLEY!" All eyes turned from Harry to Ginny and the buzzing became louder. Ginny was sitting there open-mouthed and wide-eyed like a doe in the headlights of a speeding car.

At the top table, Professor Dumbledore had straightened up, nodding to Professor McGonagall.

"Harry Potter! Ginevra Weasley! Up here if you please!" Dumbledore called.

"H-Hermione... What... How..." Ginny stuttered. The poor girl looked ready to cry and for one moment Hermione wished she hadn't done what she did.

"Go, and when they're done with you meet me on the White Wall," Hermione whispered in Ginny's ear and urged the girl to leave. When Ginny had followed the other champions, Hermione ran to the library; she had a very interesting letter to write, full of juicy details for Ms. Rita Skeeter.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

It was late evening when Ginny entered the Room of Requirement. Hermione was already there, sitting on the comfortable black leather sofa reading a very interesting book on magical creatures. The Room had transformed to a living room with a fireplace and a small library.

"Hay, what happened?" Hermione asked, her voice full of concern. Ginny looked distressed and her eyes were red and puffy, which worried the older woman greatly. She felt really guilty for putting Ginny through this difficult situation but she was certain it would all be worth it in the end.

The redhead burst into tears, "They-They shouted a lot. Madame Maxime and Karkaroff said w-we cheated and Dumbledore defended us b-but I know he was angry and-"

"Shhh..." Hermione interrupted her and held her close, "You don't have to tell me anything now, honey. It's okay..."

Ginny relaxed and stopped crying though she was still very upset. "I'm so embarrassed! I cried during the entire meeting, and I don't mean silent tears, I was _sobbing_ all the time, and then I threw up!"

"It's okay... Your reaction probably made them believe you hadn't cheated. I don't think anyone really believes you did it," Hermione said and held her friend tighter.

"What about my mother? What if she doesn't believe me? She will be _so_ angry, Hermione! Dumbledore said he will owl her and dad tomorrow morning. What am I going to do if she starts yelling at me?"

"Your mother will be upset. The most likely scenario is her storming in Dumbledore's office, shouting at him demanding that you don't participate and be very angry when he tells her he can't do shit. She will worry about you, but she will believe you, how can she not? She knows you would never do this on purpose," Hermione said calmly, trying to comfort Ginny.

"Maybe you're right. But even if my mum doesn't kill me, the TriWizard Tournament is for wizards and witches much more powerful than me, I will die there!" Ginny sobbed.

"No you will not!" Hermione said raising her voice. "You are a fool if you think _for one second_ you're alone in this!" The redhead opened her mouth to speak, but the older woman continued, this time speaking more softly. "I am your _best friend_, Ginny, am I not? Isn't it my duty to stand by you, to help you anytime you need me? We will go through this _together_, I give you my word. It's true; the other champions are more experienced than you are. But you've got me, and I promise you, I _swear_ Ginny, if you listen to me not only will you come out of this alive, but there's a good chance you'll win. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, I do. They don't call you the brightest witch for nothing..." the younger girl smiled. "But, won't you help Harry?"

"Harry is the Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One, the Savior of the Wizarding World. He'll be able to make it on his own. Haven't we talked about this before? I know you like Harry and Ron is your brother, but neither of them is as special as they think they are. You may not understand my sentiments now, but I will explain things to you one day. And I'm so sick of _boys_... Harry and Ron are typical boys, immature and superficial. They don't see me for who I am, they take me for granted. You don't, which is what I like the most about you," Hermione explained.

"You're the best friend I've ever had! Thank you so much, Hermione." Ginny smiled and hugged her friend.

"Don't think about it, honey. Wanna sleep here tonight? Or to Jason's room? I'm sure he'll mind but who gives a shit..." Hermione said.

"Dumbledore gave me my own room, temporarily of course. Until the tournament is over I'll stay there so as not to be harassed by my dormmates and the other Gryffindors. It's near the entrance of the Hufflepuff Common Room and it's pretty nice," Ginny said.

"So, when's the first task?" Hermione asked feigning ignorance.

"I don't know, I don't remember... I'm so stupid!" Ginny groaned.

"Don't worry about it, I'll find out for you. Now listen to me, you must avoid contact with Ron and Harry as much as possible. Ron is jealous of you and he'll try to hurt you with mean words, and right now Harry is... competition. I wouldn't call him "the enemy" but nevertheless you shouldn't be too friendly with him," Hermione advised.

"That shouldn't concern you. Every time I face him I'm reduced to a clumsy idiot. Merlin, I'm so nervous about the interviews! I'm going to make a fool of myself! That Skeeter woman is merciless!" Ginny groaned.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't worry about a thing. I'll take care of everything, okay? Now, let's get you back to your room. You could use a good night's sleep, little champion", Hermione said and got up with Ginny.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

After escorting Ginny to her new room, Hermione returned to the Room of Requirement which now looked nothing like it did before. A fully equipped Potions lab was there at Hermione's disposal.

Opening the bag she had hidden the package in, she laid it on a large table and opened carefully. The package became significantly larger immediately upon being opened, making Hermione jump a little despite being aware this would happen.

Suddenly, a list flew to her hands. It was a message from Mr. Chang listing all the items contained in the package and asking her to send the payment as soon as possible. Thankfully, all the ingredients she needed now were there, and she started working on her potion right away.

Placing all the ingredients on the counter next to her cauldrons, she poured 1/4 of the bottle of Rose water in the cauldron and heated up, making the rose water boil. As soon as it started bubbling she added the chopped Valerian roots and lowered the heat. She then added four whole belladonna flowers and let them boil for twelve minutes while crushing scurvy-grass leafs and flowers. When the twelve minutes had passed, she retrieved the belladonna flowers from the cauldron, disposed of them and added the crushed scurvy-grass along with thirty fresh pink rose petals. She turned on the heat again and added the finely chopped poison ivy leafs, then stirred her almost finished potion. All she had to do now was add the final ingredients, eight drops of Veela sweat and four tablespoons of glitter.

The potion would have to stay like that for the whole night, or else the ingredients wouldn't melt properly. Not wanting to leave the potion unattended, Hermione transformed the room to a bedroom, only leaving one work bench and the cauldron intact. She put on a comfortable nightdress the room had provided her with and went to bed, planning her next moves.

* * *

**A/N: "White Wall" is a code name for the Room of Requirement.**


	10. The Calm Before The Storm

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: This is a teaser chapter, just to give you an idea about the next chapter. Btw, this chapter is set the day after the champions were chosen, and the next chapter will be set in THE SAME day.**

**I would like to thank Nicxy for her lovely review. I hope the rest of you like the story as well.**

* * *

It was six in the morning when Hermione woke up in a very good mood. Getting up, she transformed a part of the RoR to a bathroom and got ready. After finishing her shower, she put on some clothes the room had provided her with; a grey denim mini skirt, a lilac sleeveless polo neck shirt and a pair of grey suede boots with 2 inch heels. She pulled up her hair, twisting it to a slightly messy but sexy bun, put on some make up and conjured a small purse that matched her top. She then walked to her mini Potions lab to look at her cauldron.

Luckily, it was filled with the dark pink, sparkly liquid Hermione had expected to see. Conjuring a small vial and a large bottle, she poured some of the liquid to the vial and the rest to the bottle. She placed both items to her purse along with Chang's package.

She turned the room to a broom closet and left for the kitchens to get some breakfast from the House Elves. She knew Ginny was an early riser and she wanted to have breakfast with her friend. After that, it would be time to put her plan in motion.

* * *

**A/N: The room cannot "make" food or water, so Hermione used an Aguamenti spell to have her shower.**


	11. Act I, Scene IV

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: Two chapters in one day! Thank you Angelacar and Nicxy for your support! I hope you like this!**

* * *

She was now standing outside "Moody's" door. Breakfast with Ginny had been wonderful, and the innocence of the girl refreshed her greatly. She had missed Ginny being like this, instead of a shadow of her former self.

It had been four hours since she had woken up, but she hadn't forgotten her mission. Conjuring a mirror, she carefully applied the dark pink, glossy substance on her lips and threw the vial back inside her purse. She could feel her lips getting numb, but before the numbness took over the rest of her body, the strong antivenom she had ingested before kicked in, right on time.

She knocked on the door and waited for a few minutes before "Moody" opened it. He was fully dressed and looked gruff as usual, though he also seemed very surprised to see her there. Hermione expected that reaction; Moody was not what most women considered appealing and Barty Crouch Jr. certainly had not predicted a young, attractive female to be knocking on his door on a Sunday morning.

"What are you doing here, girl?", he asked eyeing her curiously.

"I apologise for bothering you, but I really needed to speak with you. It's about Harry.", she answered pretending to be distressed.

"Come in." he said in a slightly challenging tone. She entered the room and looked around, though there wasn't much to look at. The room was the very definition of spartan, containing as little as possible apart from some magical devices and of course, the big brown chest. She quickly turned her attention to him, but before she had a chance to speak he told her to sit and went to make tea. She sat on one of the stiff wooden chairs and waited for a few minutes before he came back. He placed the tray on the rickety table and sat down on the chair across Hermione's. "So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"I am terribly worried about Harry, Sir. We've been friends since First Year and I know he's not that kind of person. He wouldn't put his name on the Goblet. Even if he wanted to, which I doubt, he wouldn't know how.", she said taking a sip from her tea. _Veritaserum, just a hint,_ she thought. Fortunately she was immune to it.

"Strange. You say you're his friend but I haven't seen you talking to him once since the term started." he commented.

"It has nothing to do with him. Me and Ron, Harry's other best friend, we fight a lot and I've had enough of him. He's nice, but sometimes he can be terrible... Even now, I bet he's angry at Harry. He's really jealous you know. Finds it hard to stand out, and with Harry getting all the attention...", Hermione trailed off.

"Is that so?", He asked appearing interested. He probably thought all the ways he could take advantage of that situation.

"Yes, and it's so sad. But Harry loves him a lot and I don't want to upset him any more by saying all these things to him. However, that doesn't mean I won't try to make things better for him. I'm close with Ron's sister, Ginny, who has a crush on Harry. She's a wonderful girl, I don't know why someone would do this to her; put her name in the Goblet I mean. It's obvious to me this is the work of some prankster though I can't figure out who did it. Can't be Fred and George, I know that much... Anyway, I think Ginny would be perfect for Harry. She's so in love with him she'd do anything for him." Hermione confessed.

"Really? Even let him win the TriWizard Tournament?"

"Absolutely! Hypothetically speaking of course, since there's no chance Ginny will be the winner. She's smart but she's only a Third Year. I'm worried about her too... I'll try to help her as much as I can, to get her out of this alive.", Hermione admitted pretending to be sad.

"Help her? How?", he asked.

"I'm not sure yet, Professor. But I'll do whatever I can." Hermione said. "Oh, I should probably leave now, you've wasted enough of your time for me so far" Hermione smiled and forced herself to blush. "I don't want to disrupt your schedule." she added.

"I have the whole day for myself, actually. You can stay for a while, I have some books that may interest you." he proposed.

"Thank you very much, Sir. Maybe some other time. I'm no TriWizard Champion, I need to study for the exams. I know it's early but I like to be prepared.", she said rising from her seat.

"That's a good way of thinking. Now, don't let me keep you.", he said and got up as well.

"Uh, could I please use the bathroom before I leave?", she asked timidly.

"Sure, go ahead.", he agreed.

When Hermione got inside the bathroom, she took two things out of her purse; a large syringe which contained a thick, dark green liquid and one of the vials she had made before. She put an invisibility charm on the syringe and drank the pink substance, moving it inside her mouth and then spitting it in the sink. She washed her hands and went back to "Moody's" room, ready for Act I, Scene IV.

"Thank you" she smiled. He was about to open the door, but she put a hand on his forearm and stopped him. He seemed startled, clearly not expecting her to touch him, and she continued, "There's another thing I would like to tell you before I leave."

He opened his mouth, most likely to ask "What?" but he never managed to do that. When she saw his mouth open, Hermione took advantage of their close proximity and crashed her mouth onto his, quickly slipping her tongue in his mouth.

The effect was immediate. He responded to the kiss from the start, practically attacking her mouth, and she took the chance to plunge the needle in his throat, injecting the powerful coma-inducing potion. He ended the kiss by collapsing on her, although Hermione managed to push him against the wall and didn't let him fall on top of her on the floor.

She silently Accioed the trunk's keys, and they flew from his pocket to her hand. She went to the trunk and unlocked one lock after the other, finding all kinds of things until she only had one lock left. She took a deep breath and opened the final lock.

It was an underground room that resembled a pit, and the real Moody was in the bottom of it, unconscious and very thin-looking. His wooden leg was gone, the socket that should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing. She levitated him to the bed and ran several diagnostic spells. It would be difficult to nurse him back to health, and near impossible to explain everything to him, but she was confident she would be able to convince him to work with her.

* * *

**A/N: I don't know when the next chapter will be ready, hopefully soon.**


	12. The Scent of Lemons

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**A/N: Thank you Angelacar and Nicxy for your support! **

**P.S: This is the expanded version.**

* * *

It had been three weeks since the night Hermione replaced the fake Moody with the real one.

Explaining things to the real Moody and convincing him to trust her had been difficult, but she managed to do it, and in only three weeks. Obviously Moody didn't trust her completely but he trusted her enough to do as she told him. He was stubborn as hell, but he never rejected smart ideas. One of the problems Hermione had to deal with was his inquisitive nature, which forced her to think of realistic excuses. Thankfully, her knowledge of Occlumency had made her a very good liar. However, another more serious issue was his insistence to tell Dumbledore everything, and Hermione had to use one of the more obscure, and "dark"skills her Master had taught her; it was similar to the Imperius curse, though not quite the same. It made the victim more accepting of the caster's suggestions, and eventually he/she forgot their original intentions and came to agree with the caster.

Another success had been Hermione's agreement with Rita Skeeter. Rita's article was much different than it had been the first time. Actually, it was two articles; one about Viktor and Fleur (including the interviews she had taken from them), and a longer article dedicated to Harry and Ginny. Ginny had been portrayed as a poor, innocent girl who had been a victim of someone else's schemes (which was the truth). Rita's Quick Quotes quill praised Ginny's beauty, kindness and intelligence, something that couldn't be told for Harry's part of the article. Much of it contained information about Harry's strained friendship with Ron and his hostile behavior against other students, courtesy of Miss Lynn Collins.

The general atmosphere in Hogwarts was relatively pleasant; there was lots of gossip and stuff about the tournament, but no "Potter Stinks!" badges or aggressive behavior, at least not from the Hufflepuffs. The only Hufflepuff that everyone thought would place his name on the Goblet was Cedric, and he told them he wouldn't compete in order to sit for his N.E.W.T's, something everyone accepted knowing how hard-working he was.

Hermione had also managed to become closer with the other TriWizard Champions. She had talked with Fleur a few times and their conversations -mostly about Fleur's home country and the differences between the two schools- seemed to interest the Beauxbatons champion. Viktor was another story; she had stopped wearing the little make up she wore before, made her hair brown again and curly -though not bushy. She spent a lot of time at the library, and he had definitely noticed her. She pretended to be shy and innocent, which appealed to him a lot and he had asked her to escort him to the Yule Ball. She blushed and smiled and of course said yes, thinking about all the ways they could have fun together.

She had seen Harry at the library too, but had made sure he wouldn't notice her. The table she preferred was away from the other tables, in a far corner not visible from Harry's point of view and not at all close to all the dragon books he read. Viktor only knew where she sat because he searched the whole library to find her -and then pretended to be very surprised when he saw her there. Hermione wasn't sure about her decisions regarding Harry. She didn't want to be friends with him, but didn't want him to die either. She would help him subtly, not much but just enough to keep him alive. Right now her top priority was Ginny, and she was the one Hermione would help the most.

She had sneaked in the Forbidden Forest one night to see the dragons. She didn't know why she'd done it since she already knew what dragons would be assigned to each champion, but a bad feeling made her go. Luckily or not, she was right to have checked again. Next to the Common Green Welsh, the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail was a fierce Peruvian Vipertooth. It was probably the most dangerous breed of dragon, because unlike the Horntail the Vipertooth had a particular craving for humans. Thankfully, Hermione had an ace up her sleeve that would ensure Ginny's survival.

The little Champion, as Hermione called her affectionately, had been scared witless after finding out what the task entailed. Especially because she didn't find out from Hermione, who would have tried to break the news more gently. Though the younger girl's parents hadn't sent any Howlers -only letters to congratulate her-, it was obvious they were deeply concerned and, on Molly's part, angry. The Weasley matriarch had forced Charlie to write a letter to Ginny and warn her, and he reluctantly accepted. His letter included many helpful tips, though Ginny had been too overwhelmed by the fact that she would be fighting a dragon to read them. Hermione had managed to comfort her and assure her everything would be alright, but it took her some time to finally convince the girl -and not completely.

On the Saturday before the first task, the students from Third Year and up were allowed to visit Hogsmeade, and Hermione didn't miss her chance. After raiding Honeyduke's and having ice cream with Ginny, she made her move. Using a powerful glamour, she changed her appearance completely and Apparated to Muggle London. If things turned out well, she would soon become the owner of Number 13, New Square, London.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

Tuesday evening had arrived and the time for the First Task was rapidly approaching. Ginny had just come out of Jason's shower, smelling strongly of lemons.

"Why did I have to shower and wash my hair with these Muggle products you gave me? I trust you Hermione, but I can't stand this! The smell is insufferable! This whole room smells like lemons", Ginny complained.

"It will be over in a few minutes, I'm sure you will manage", Hermione said removing the clothes Ginny would wear from the cauldron she had placed them in and placing them inside a different one.

Curious, Ginny approached the first cauldron, "What did you soak my clothes in? Dear Merlin, is that lemon juice?", Ginny asked in disgust.

Hermione dried the clothes and charmed them so they wouldn't feel sticky. "Yes, it is. Now put these on and when you're done I'll cast the charm that prevents humans from noticing the scent", she explained handing the clothes to Ginny.

The redhead turned around and started getting dressed. "This is for the dragons, isn't it? Are you sure this will work?"

"Positive. I know it is hard for you to believe me, and you won't find this tip in any books so you can't double-check, but you'll have to take my word for it.", the older witch insisted.

"It's not that! I trust you, but I don't understand how lemon juice can defeat a wizard-eating dragon when not even five Stunners can.", Ginny said and finished putting her clothes on.

"I know it's hard, but please try to relax," Hermione said in a soft tone and placed her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "I would never risk your safety without being certain there are more than ten ways to fix things if they go wrong".

Ginny smiled and seemed to calm down. "Now what about that charm? I can't stand this stench!" she whined.

Placing the charm, Hermione grabbed her bag and left for the Great Hall with Ginny, hoping everything would go as planned.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG 

Watching Ginny being lead out of the Great Hall was hard for Hermione. She didn't want to leave the girl alone, but had no choice in the matter. Instead of showing her nervousness, she chose to hurry along with the other students to get good seats. She wanted to be as close to Ginny as possible while the girl faced the dragon, in order to help as much as she could.

After much pushing and shoving, she found a good seat on the first row, earning quite a few glares from the other spectators. She sat and waited for Ginny to appear first, like Cedric had the last time, when she saw Fleur coming out of the tent desperately trying to maintain her facade of aloofness.

The French woman enchanted the Common Welsh Green to sleep and retrieved the golden egg, though the dragon almost set her on fire. Next was Viktor, who managed to get the egg after blinding the Chinese Fireball by using the Conjuctivitis curse, but lost points for some technicalities. And then came Harry, who put on an impressive show as always and seized the blasted egg. All the applause angered Hermione. _Did they think the First Task was over? There's still one more champion!_, she thought. Harry's score was good - Eight from Maxime, Nine from Crouch and Dumbledore, ten from Bagman and four from Karkaroff- , but Hermione was confident Ginny would do better.

When the redhead entered the arena the audience quieted down again, anxious to see how the young girl witch would perform. There were a few snide comments and offensive remarks about Ginny but they only amused Hermione; their reactions would be marginally different when her friend took the egg with practically no effort.

Though it wasn't hard to guess the Weasley girl was nervous, there was an air of strong confidence surrounding her. The dragon's heavy copper eyelids opened, revealing intense yellow eyes. It seemed docile, which was much unlike its usual behaviour around humans. Noticing this, Ginny started walking towards the Vipertooth with her head high and her knees shaking. The closer she got, the more irritated the dragon looked and started retreating. Encouraged, the young witch kept walking and when she was only a few feet away from the egg, the Vipertooth let out a fierce wail and flew as further away as it could, enabling Ginny to take the egg and walk away calmly.

The audience didn't cheer; they were too stunned to do so. Bagman was aghast too. A few minutes later the Dragon Handlers approached the dragon to check if anything was wrong with its health, but the Vipertooth's violent reaction and its attempt to grill the wizards convinced them it was more than well.

Ginny had surely won the task, retrieving the golden egg in less time than the other champions without causing any damages like Viktor had. The crowd was cheering now as McGonagall led Ginny to the tent Madame Pomfrey was. Not wasting any time, Hermione moved through the people and followed the two Gryffindors.

Nothing was wrong with Ginny so Madame Pomfrey focused her attentions on Harry's arm while the redhead talked with Hermione. Harry glanced at them from time to time, but the older woman tried to ignore him. She knew Harry wasn't a lying bastard or a fame whore yet, but she couldn't erase twenty years in three months. Ron was being his usual jackass self, siding with Harry and giving the cold shoulder to Ginny. It was obvious Ron was jealous of his sister; being topped by your older brothers was one thing, but by your little sister?

"Did I tell you everything would be alright? You just had to believe in yourself", Hermione said and kissed Ginny's forehead.

"I was so worried, 'Mione. But you were right, I'm sorry I doubted you.", Ginny admitted hugging the older witch closer.

"Don't think about it. Now let's go outside to see your score!", Hermione exclaimed and took Ginny's hand, leading her out of the tent.

The first judge, Madame Maxime, raised her wand in the air. What hooked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure eight.

"Eight? You fully deserved a ten!", Hermione half-shouted. "She's just biased and doesn't want you to get a higher score than Fleur."

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number ten into the air. Dumbledore, Bagman and Karkaroff gave Ginny nine, ten and eight respectively. Like Hermione had predicted, her friend got more points than Harry and all the other champions though Karkaroff's generosity was unexpected. He was probably planning on approaching Ginny, perhaps even inviting her to Durmstrang. Well that was out of the question, but why not lead him on?

"45! I got 45!", Ginny squealed and enveloped Hermione into a bear-hug.

"That's right. You got 6 points more than Fleur and 5 points more than Viktor and Harry! But hurry up now, you need to go back to the tent with the other champions.", Hermione smiled.

* * *

**A/N: I don't know when the next chapter will be ready, hopefully soon.**

**Number 13, New Square, London... What (canon) place do we know that's in London? And where exactly are the Harry Potter houses/buildings in the real world? If you know the answers to these questions, then you know why and how important Number 13, New Square, London is! **


	13. Important Note

**A/N: After much consideration I decided to abandon this story. Allow me to explain. I am intrigued and very fond of the concept(s) behind "In Some Other Time And Place". If it were someone else's story, I would stick with it until the end. In my personal opinion, it's a rather enjoyable story to read, and quite original as well. However, I have been facing a big problem with "In Some Other Time And Place" lately. The thing is, I do not feel remotely connected to it. The plot's still there, but the bunny died. I have made strenuous efforts to continue writing, and even began writing the next chapter; it was all in vain. It saddens me to think how passionate I once was about this story, and it confuses me that my passion died to abruptly. Nevertheless, it's over now. I'm done with "In Some Other Time And Place", it will never be finished. I apologise to everyone who has reviewed, added my story to their Favorites and to all the followers. But had I continued writing the story in spite of my lack of excitement about it, then I do not think it would still be the story you liked. Therefore, I think killing "In Some Other Time And Place" was the best choice I could have made.**

**However, there will be some form of "rebirth". A reicarnation, if you'd like. I put a lot of thought into this, and decided to take the best elements from "In Some Other Time And Place" and "Rewriting History", combine them with a basic concept I have for a new, separate story, and merge them. The result will be a story that will certainly seem familiar, but original nonetheless. I do not know the title or when it will be posted; it could be a year from now. Check my profile regularly, because it will be periodically updated with news about my stories.**

**Sincerely,  
ExAmoreDolorem.**


End file.
